Senseless Irony
by GreyMoth
Summary: If Ed had known what would happen, he would never have gone to check out that warehouse..Roy/Ed..Yaoi..Mpreg. Up for adoption
1. One Twisted Field Trip

The old warehouse creaked as its own weight crushed down upon it. Boxes were piled up against the walls while broken splinters lay strewn across the ground haphazardly. The musty smell of compiled dust hung thickly in the air, threatening to suffocate any who dared intrude. Not that many did, especially with the rumors of strange alchemic experiments that were said to have gone on there; and it was for that exact reason that Edward and Alphonse Elric had been sent to check it out.

The two stood outside the building, looking up at the weather stained, peeling walls, one rubbing the back of his head in annoyance while the other stayed perfectly still. Neither were overly impressed about being sent off to check into a bunch of old rumors and superstitions but there was nothing they could do. Dogs had to follow orders and that meant everyone in the pack.

"What the fuck does this have to do with the Philosophers Stone? You would think the Colonel Bastard would know better than to send us on a pointless mission."

"He only picked you because you were yelling at him about being bored, Nii-san."

Edward gave an exasperated sigh before clapping his hands together and placing them on the padlock. A soft click was heard before the door was opened and the elder teen stomped inside. Al followed more cautiously, not wanting to fall through the rotting floorboards, and gazed at the open room curiously while ignoring the muffled chocking sounds coming from his brother.

"I think this dust is enough evidence to put to end over half of the rumors. There's enough here to choke a horse!"

Al looked back at his brother who had a hand over his nose and mouth as he walked deeper into the building leaving scuff marks behind him. Something about those marks drew his attention and the boy crouched down to stare at the barely discernible marks,

"Nii-san, I think there's an array painted on the floor."

Ed glanced over curiously before looking down and catching glimpses of the lines of faded paint through the dust, "We'll draw it out and then go give it to the Bastard. He should be happy with it."

Al nodded and started to stand up only to freeze as the sound of loud _CRACK _echoed through the building, shortly followed by falling debris. The combination of him already being off balance and the chunk of beam falling on his shoulders caused him to crumble forward, his hands instinctively held out to catch his fall.

The noise caught Ed's attention and he looked back, his eyes widening as he watched in horror the slow motion decent of his brother's hands as they moved to connect with the faded alchemic circle. A bright flash of yellow light blinded him before pain took his conscience, the name of his brother on his lips.

Ed woke up slowly with a pounding headache and a sense of dread at the thought of what he would find when he opened his eyes. The smell and sound of hospital had already registered in his mind as he hesitantly returned into the world of sight, his golden eyes taking in everything until they came to rest on his brother. Al was sleeping in the chair beside his bed, a string of drool working its way down his chin. It had only been only a year since Al had regained his body and the news that Ed would never be able regain his limbs. Not that he minded, especially since his brother was all right.

Al seemed to sense the gaze and stirred, unconsciously wiping the spit away with the back of his hand; Ed winced at the sound of cracking joints that came as the younger teen shifted in the chair after having been sitting there for who knew how long.

"Nii-san! You're finally awake!"

Ed rubbed the back of his head and winced again, this time because of the loudness of the other's voice,

"Yeah, I'm awake. What happened?"

"About that…" Al started fidgeting and looked away to avoid eye contact, "You remember that circle right? Well, I might have, you know, accidentally activated it and, umm, yeah." Their eyes suddenly connected again and the younger suddenly blurted, "The Colonel is looking into it and said that as soon as he found out what happened he would try to fix it!"

"He said that?" Ed didn't even bother to try and hide the scoffing tone that rang through his voice.

"Not like I had a choice in what to do about the matter." a smooth voice seamlessly broke into their conversation, "How are you doing Fullmetal?"

"What do you want?"

"A promotion, my mother's love, and glasses. Or maybe a microscope would be better."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL THAT YOU WOULD MISTAKE THEM FOR AN AMOEBA?"

"Someone has low self esteem."

"What did you just say, Bastard?"

"_Colonel _Bastard if you would."

Al watched as the blood rushed to his brother's face and looked nervously at the raven haired man who was standing calmly as if the flashing golden eyes weren't trying to impale him brutally,

"I'm going to go get something to eat. Does anyone else want something?"

Both potential murderer and murderee looked at him in surprise as if they had forgotten that he was there, which they probably had.

"I could use something." Ed said at the same time that his stomach growled to remind him that he hadn't eaten for… "How long have I been out?"

"I'm fine, thank you Al." Roy said as they switched places, the younger teen leaving after giving his brother a reassuring smile. "You've been out for just over a day and a half now. For an eighteen year old you sure take a long time getting back on your feet."

Ed chose to ignore the last comment but the twitch under his eye gave away his irritation, "Have you figured out the array?"

"From what we could tell it was developed by an alchemic doctor to help barren women give birth. Since human testing isn't allowed he used that warehouse and women who came to see him. It happened quite some time ago so there aren't any hard facts, and his notes were burned along with his house by grieving family members of his failed experiments."

"So it was a fertility array?" Ed asked curiously as he watched the man suspiciously. There was something he wasn't being told.

"Of a sort."

Golden eyes narrowed, it wasn't like the bastard to avoid things and look openly nervous, "Spill. Now."

Roy tried to smirk as he made eye contact again, but it slid away as he sighed, "We think that it was meant to fully replace the reproductive organs rather than artificially make the woman fertile."

"…"

The atmosphere grew more ominous as the silence drew on, Ed's head hanging down so that his face was covered by the blond bangs. Roy watched him silently, biting the inside of his cheek as he strained to keep up his mask of indifference.

"So what you are saying is that I have been turned into a girl."

"Hermaphrodite actually. Unless you lost something in the exchange and no one has bothered to inform us."

That was obviously the worst possible thing to say and the tension mounted as the black aurora grew around the golden teen.

"Is it possible to reverse it?" Ed finally asked through clenched teeth, Roy could practically hear them grind from where he was sitting.

"It is being worked on as fast as possible. This has never happened before and part of the circle was destroyed when the roof caved in so we are having difficulty." He suddenly leaned forward, "Do you remember anything about it? Al drew what he could but it wasn't much. He said that the dust was too thick."

Ed shook his head, "Al's right. We could only see the lines clearly through our footprints."

Roy sighed and stood at the exact same time a nurse came in, the poor woman almost going into shock upon seeing Ed awake.

"Where's that other boy? He was supposed to… inform me…" she trailed off when she noticed who was also in the room, and blushed.

Roy smiled as he walked past her, "It's all right, probably the best that the pipsqueak," here he leaned his head back to avoid the thrown glass that shattered against the wall while ignoring the ranting, "had someone he knew help him get settled before the doctors swarmed him. I'll just go get Al. Have a good day Miss."

Both she and Ed watched the man leave before looking at each other,

"I'm Nurse Evalyn and if you don't mind I will just need to check some things before the doctor comes."

"No needles?" Ed asked while glaring at her suspiciously.

"Not at the moment. How are you feeling?"

"Hungry. A bit sore, and I have a headache."

She nodded while writing a few jot notes down, then did all the normal thinks like check his temperature before, at last, "Can you lie down again, please?"

Ed did but never stopped eyeing her suspiciously, especially when she pulled his shirt up to expose his stomach. The moment she pressed down gently he jerked and hissed in pain. Once again something was written down before she turned and headed for the door,

"The doctor will be with you shortly. Please remain here."

Ed resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he made himself comfortable, his fingers skimming over his stomach gently. It took a bit more time before Al came back with a couple sandwiches and the two ate in near silence as they waited for the doctor. When he did come it was purely business like, questions coming one right after the other as he repeated the actions of the nurse. He had introduced himself as Dr. Nelson and had that grandfatherly look and feel about him that set the boys at ease.

"Well, it seems like the array worked and your body is doing fine except for being sore as it adjusts. It would be best if you stayed here for the next while so we can keep an eye on you."

Ed started to object but Al broke in quickly to say that they would. Dr. Nelson gave them both a long look before nodding,

"I will have another bed brought in." was all he said before leaving.

Ed stared up at the ceiling as he waited for Al to get back from the bathroom. Moonlight poured into the room from the single window and illuminated the room, casting elongated shadows that stained whatever they touched. Something seemed off, had seemed off ever since he had gotten here. It wasn't the odd looks he still received from the staff, but a strong feeling that something was going to happen. That someone was watching and waiting for a slip up.

He and Al had been at the hospital for four days now, only two and a half that he remembered, and Roy had set up guards for the two boys. He had never said why but he seemed to grow more strained every day, even forgetting to make short jokes whenever he visited.

Rolling over onto his side, Ed stared at his automail hand and flexed the mechanical fingers while curling up with his back to the window. He just wanted to get out of the hospital and back to his normal life, maybe go back to Risembool with his arm and leg intact so Winry and Pinako wouldn't be able to accuse him of coming back only to get them fixed. Besides, Al would like that.

A soft tick and thump was the only warning he got before a cloth was clamped down over his nose. Without even thinking he opened his mouth to yell but only managed to inhale a disgusting scent that knocked him out for the second time in less than two weeks

**The figure sat alone, unperturbed by the darkness it was sitting in or the small confines of the room. A letter was held tightly in one hand, the grip tight enough to put holes into the paper from where the nails were digging in,**

'_Who would have thought that Grandfather's work would have survived, unknown in a warehouse, after all these years.' _**it thought**_, 'Or that someone would stumble upon it and make it work, and on a male no less! This is what Grandfather dedicated his life too and now it is time for me to complete it. It's my chance to complete what my ancestors had started. I will be the one to carry on the research. I will be the one to pick up where everyone else failed._

'_All that is left now is to run a few more experiments and to find an appropriate mate. Certain military leaders have contacted me and have agreed to lend me support in return that they receive all my notes and can interfere at any time. Of course this must be kept a secret and I will gladly keep it as such. The less people who can interfere with this the better.'_


	2. Oh the Sane Insanity

Roy paced in his office, running his hand through ebony strands while flashing obsidian eyes glanced at the clock every couple of seconds. Al sat on the couch and watched him nervously through the doorway with his fingers twisting into the hem of his shirt while Hawkeye stood beside him and watched everything expressionlessly. Everyone else sat at their desks and rotated between joining with Roy in watching the clock or watching him as he put to action their own need to do _something_.

The door swung open and hit the wall with a resounding crash; even Riza winced in sympathy for the wall that now had a huge dent in it. Fuhrer Armstrong strode confidently into the room, icy blue eyes sweeping over the people gathered while other military personal chased after her with looks of scandalized horror.

"I hope you have a good reason for this request, Colonel Mustang." she said in a dangerously low voice as she slapped the paper on his desk.

"He is my subordinate, and a very influential figure to the people. Surely you can understand why I want all available help to find him." Roy said calmly as he stopped pacing and faced her while mentally sighing at the use of his rank. Since he had been a main instigator of the uprising, people had been hesitant about promoting him so he had been forced to sit back and wait.

Olivier glared at him for a few moments before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a pin. Tossing it to him, she suddenly smirked, "I think you will forgive the lack of ceremony since you are so busy. Take this and do what you want, but I want only your group working on this. Everyone has enough on their hands already."

Roy caught it and glanced down, only to look up with his eyebrows raised in surprise. The two shared a silent look, one with a warning that he had better find Ed and the other promising that he would, before the Fuhrer grabbed the paper again and took off. It was rather surprising that she didn't wait for the salute since she loved to trample on Mustang's pride, but there was obviously something on her mind that she had to take care of.

"A General, hmm? Seems to be a pretty big leap." Havoc commented while he played with his cigarette as he watched Roy pin the medal to his jacket.

"Probably missed the challenge of having someone competing against her. All right men, we have the go ahead so let's not waste time. We have a midget to find." His tone was light but everyone could see the anxious set of his shoulders as he turned around and closed the door to his office.

Al looked over at Riza who had finally let her cool façade slip and was staring at the closed door in worry, "What's the matter?"

She looked over at him and smiled thinly, "I have a feeling that there is a reason he was promoted so fast and without the normal ceremony."

"What do you mean?"

"They're using him as bait." Falmon yawned before making eye contact. "Armstrong can't show any favoritism between alchemists, but if a General vanishes, well, there is going to be a huge fuss now isn't there."

Al looked over to the room with the same worried expression that was on the female snipers face, "And he knows this?"

Havoc grinned as he crushed the cigarette into the top of his desk, "Oh yes. He planned on it."

Ed groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to the fuzzy world called a cell. It wasn't a jail cell though, more like an actual monk's cell. Ironic that he would be stuck in one of those. Strange that his body felt so light and unbalanced.

The pounding in his head grew worse, surpassing what he had felt the first time he had woken up back at the hospital; his dried lips cracked as he grimaced. Flicking his tongue out to taste the metallic liquid that formed in crimson beads, he looked around slowly, taking in the thick grey blocks that made the walls, the metal door, concrete floor and the single bucket in the corner. It was bare to say the least; even the bed only had a thin sheet covering the mattress, a pillow and a scratchy blanket.

His hand reached to pull said blanket off but stopped the moment he realized that he didn't have a hand. Funny, hadn't he realized that before?

Oh well, you learn something new every day right? Or maybe it would be 'try something new every day' that better fit his situation.

His brain continued to dive off track every time he tried to think straight and due to his overly loud heartbeat - why wouldn't it just shut up?- He didn't realize that the door had opened until a face appeared in front of his.

"Oh good, you're awake. Had us a bit worried there. M'name's Dr. Thomas Jefferson and I'm the one that will be taking care of you. The guy behind me is Nathaniel Marks; it is his family that got you into this mess."

"Shut up Tom and get on with whatever it is you wanted to do. We only have so long before the Mate is brought in."

The doctor shrugged, "Now now. You do know that things got complicated with him, correct."

"Of course!" the man snapped, "It doesn't matter though, no one will find us here."

Ed gazed at the two curiously while he was poked and prodded, his brain slowly clearing as whatever drug he had been given wore off with the last remains of sleep. The two seemed to have known each other for quite a long time and Tom used that constantly to his advantage to poke fun at the more sober man. Neither used names of those that were helping them but from a couple of snide comments he figured that he was being held in an old monastery that had been renovated into a summer getaway for someone rich.

"He's perfectly healthy, Nate. When will the other be delivered?" Dr. Thomas' voice broke through Ed's thoughts and he focused back on the two.

"Other?"

He hadn't realized that he had spoken until the two turned to stare at him.

"I thought he was sedated." Marks said slowly and with enough coldness in his voice to give frostbite.

"Probably wearing off. He was awake when we came in." Tom said as cheerful as ever, "Mind going to get me a needle and some suppressant?"

The other eyed him suspiciously but left anyways, leaving the two alone. Tom looked back at Ed before sitting at the base of the bed,

"I did want to do more experiments but Nate would not allow it. But once he has the first child to use, I get you. Remember that."

Ed glared at him while trying not to shiver at the sudden threat that hung thick in the once playful voice. "Fuck off asshole, I'm not letting you do anything to me."

"That really is too bad since you don't have a choice in the matter. No worries though, for the first bit I'll only be helping you. It will be up to your darling friend Roy Mustang to do most of the stuff to you."

Ed hissed through his teeth and lunged toward to punch the other man in the mouth but the lack of automail threw him off balance and he toppled off of the bed. Tom just sat there and watched with the same expression one wears while watching a bug try to escape a sealed jar, morbidly curious and amused but completely detached.

The door opened again and Nate pushed his way in with a syringe filled with clear liquid, his dark hazel eyes narrowing dangerously as he watched Ed flail on the floor.

"Ah! Just on time, Nate. Mind handing that over here before he finds his balance? Being punched by him would not be comfortable."

"Be careful with what you give him from now until the birth. I don't want any problems that could have been avoided,"

"Yes yes, I know. Calm down now, bucko. Oi! Watch it now, don't want to break the needle. There now, all better." Tom stood up and rubbed his shoulder before handing the empty syringe back to Nate, "He does pack a mean punch. That should put him out soon, just long enough for us to get the other."

Both ignored the cursing that slowly faded out behind them as a guard slid into the room once they had left. By that time Ed could only watch through half closed eyes as he was lifted back into the bed and his normal clothes were exchanged for a hospital gown.

"_You better not get caught, Colonel Bastard."_

Roy made his way through the opera house, dodging around people as he made his way around while searching for the certain actress. Roses were clenched in his hand as he played the part of suitor along with the many other hopeful men who were vying for the lead actresses favor. It was rather amusing to catch all of the glares that were sent his way, especially when he knew they didn't have any competition from him... for once

It had only been a couple of hours since he had been promoted and the news hadn't had time to spread much. Even still, anonymous notes had been left with hints of people who had connections that might lead to the reason, or the person responsible, for Fullmetal's capture. One such note had led him to the opera house with instructions on who to meet and what to say to that person.

Resisting the urge to swing the flowers in circles he looked around slowly and caught the eye of the person he was looking for. Sliding up to the red haired beauty, he ignored her companion and leaned down to kiss her hand before handing over the flowers, "It would be a shame for such a lovely flame to burn by itself tonight."

Copper eyes met his in amusement, "Indeed." she murmured before turning back to the man that was desperately trying to think of a way to gain her attention, "Excuse me, Vincent."

Roy gave him a smirk as he tucked the slender hand around his elbow and led her off. Once they were safely out of earshot he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I've been told that you know something about a certain missing Alchemist."

She hummed gently in agreement before looking around and dragging him into a back room. Roy started to hesitate but allowed her to pull him in and lock the door behind them, seeing the value in not being disturbed.

"You got the note?" she asked as he turned back to him, her eyes roving over his form slowly.

"Yes."

"Well, you are a pretty one at least. I can't wait to see how this turns out."

Mustang opened his mouth to ask what was going on, his hand coming out of his pocket with fingers ready to snap, when a sharp pain shot from the side of his neck. There was no time for him to react and the last thing he heard while he slumped to the ground was the actress thanking whoever had been hiding in the shadows.

Havoc looked at the illuminated glow of the large clock face across the square and scowled. It had been hours since Roy had left to go inside and the large crowd of people had already left. If that man was late just because he was flirting with all the women inside he was going to be ticked. Not only had he, Havoc, had to miss out on yet another date, but the dark made for some ominous shadows.

A light tapping came at his window and he jumped, his heart only calming down when he saw Al's and Riza's familiar faces pressed up against the glass. Well, in all honesty it was only Al's that was; Riza was standing behind the boy.

Reaching over, he unlocked and opened the two right side car doors, "Is he still in there?"

Riza shook her head as she did the seat belt up, "There's not a trace of him anywhere, and the girl he was supposed to have met left hours ago with a patron. One guy said that he saw the two leave together but that really isn't solid evidence and we can't do anything without her to question."

"So where to now?"

"Back to the office. We'll round everyone up and see if General Mustang left us anything to help with."

"Do you think he was captured by the same people that have Nii-san?"

Riza sighed and rubbed her eyes, "It would be odd if it wasn't. And difficult."

"Why him though? They already have my brother."

This time it was Havoc that answered, "Think about it Al. Both are exceptional alchemists and they both have inside knowledge about the warehouse. They can't use you since you are related to Boss, but they can use Mustang and he is perfect for the job."

Al wrinkled his nose in distaste despite the situation, "You mean that Nii-san and the Colonel are going to have to have sex?"

Havoc nearly slammed on the brakes while Riza choked,

"That was rather bluntly put, but yes." she managed once she got her coughing under control.

"How are they ever going to manage that?"

Both gunmen looked at each other before shrugging. How indeed.

"Fuck! He's awake!"

"Get help!"

"Hold on to him, damnit!"

"Just get him to the cell."

Ed's eyes flew open as loud bangs and shouts echoed through the hallways along with grunts and yelps of pain. Trust the Bastard to make a scene when he first arrives. Fucking show off.

The door flew open and a body dressed in a fancy suit was pushed in followed by two guards that grabbed the man's hands and cuffed them together before attaching a chain between him and the bed. Ed just watched it all, amusement warring with annoyance in his gold eyes.

"Didn't expect to see you so soon." he commented dryly.

Roy stopped fighting and looked back at the bed, smirking slightly as he replied, "Is that you Fullmetal? Sorry, I didn't see you there under the blanket."

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT YOU COULD MISTAKE HIM FOR A BEDBUG!"

"You obviously. Probably bite like them too."

Ed hissed and started to yell something else but a voice interrupted.

"Sorry to break up this touching little reunion but I need to have a chat with you both before I leave you two alone."

The two left off trying to kill each other with just eye contact and turned to the intruder. Tom stood leaning against the doorway smiling innocently at them while tapping his fingers against his leg,

"Oh lovely. All right, I thought I should give you a little warning: if you don't go along we will have to resort to drastic measures. Most, if not all, you won't like. That is all, enjoy your honeymoon."

Two pairs of eyes blinked as the door closed before turning to look at each other. Understanding dawned in both but it was the owner of the pair of gold that raised a shaky finger and pointed to the other accusingly,

"_You're_ supposed to be my mate?"

There was a short pause before, at the same time in the same disgusted voice, they growled "Like Hell!"


	3. Dictatorship or Democracy

'_Negative 1025 beers on the wall, negative 1025 beers, don't take one down, don't pass it- to hell with this_.' Ed grumbled mentally as he opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling that he had already memorized. The song had grown tiring when he had still been in the positives and now it was getting beyond frustrating, especially since the tune was permanently stuck in his head. At least it wasn't the song that never ends.

That was a jinx.

"Fullmetal, keep humming and I might end up jumping you."

The humming stopped as Ed shifted his gaze so that one large, golden iris was staring straight at the man that was sitting passively on the floor beside the bed with his head bent back to rest against the wall. He looked like he was still asleep, though the effect was ruined by the fact that he had also been forced into a hospital grown and now, given his current position, looked like a mental patient from medieval times.

As if he felt the annoyed gaze or heard the irritable unasked question, Roy opened his own eyes and smirked, "It's rather hard to kill someone with your bare hands when you cannot see them; and since you're so short and all it would be best to do it when I can rely on sound instead of sight."

Ed growled and automatically lunged at Mustang, completely forgetting once again that he was missing his automail limbs. Roy didn't have any time to react before a body toppled over him and forced him to roll to avoid damage. They ended up in an undignified sprawl that had Ed lying on the floor with Roy hovering above him on hands and knees, effectively caging him in.

"It's nice to see that you two have decided to cooperate, but please keep to your assigned roles. Roy, while I am glad you are on top, could you maybe go a step further and be the dominant? We really need Ed to be the one receiving."

Both looked towards the door that they hadn't heard open and glared at the intruder. Tom grinned back as he stepped into the room to allow a woman with a trolley past him. The plates and glasses with their dinner was set down on the floor unceremoniously before she stepped back, crossed her arms, and waited for the two prisoners to start eating. They did so grudgingly after untangling themselves, but with many wary looks directed at the impassive figure.

Tom moved over to sit on the bed and watched them over his steeped fingers,

"It has been a week since we brought you here and within that time this is the only physical contact that you have had. That we know of anyways. So, we can start this conversation with threats, bribes or whatever else you want. Unless you suddenly wish to obey?"

"Like hell I'm letting this bastard fuck me just so I can get knocked up. You should have known that already."

"That really is a pity. What about you, Roy?"

"Don't think I could do it even with a powerful aphrodisiac."

Ed shot him a glare while trying to decide if he should be insulted or not.

"That really is too bad, especially since that is our next plan. After which, if you still somehow managed to refuse, we would get personal. You wouldn't want your brother being in the cell next to you as a genie pig now would you, Edward? And you, Roy, do you really want to risk your team getting completely split up and sent out on suicide missions?"

The two felt blood slowly drain from their faces as they watched the man that was now busy inspecting his nails. He let them stare for a bit before looking up and smiling,

"You two have a lot to think over. Either start tonight or wait and we will start adding aphrodisiacs to everything while setting things up for plan C." He stood up and went to the door while the woman cleaned up. "I'm really glad that we could have this talk and look forward to making future visits. Good day gentlemen."

"I really hate him." Ed hissed as the door closed, leaving them alone in the room once again.

"For once we actually agree." Roy too stared at the door in distaste.

"Any more luck with the escape plan?"

The two had been met with no luck whatsoever when it came to escaping. Neither was let out of the room except for baths and the occasional washroom break, and that was only one at a time while under guard. Alchemy was out of the picture with Ed missing his arm, Roy missing his gloves, and there being nothing to draw with. Even food, water or blood was out of the equation, that being decided with their meals always supervised and both agreeing that they didn't want to find out the counter measures that would be taken if they tried the latter. Besides, it was hard to bring a piece of floor or wall with them everywhere they went.

"I haven't been able to think of anything. You?"

The teen shook his head before dragging himself to the bed and heaving himself up. Roy watched impassively while holding back an offer to help, last time he had tried Ed had yelled at him for an hour and then wouldn't say anything but hissing snide comments for the rest of the day. How he could still be so childish after all he had gone through was a mystery.

Roy settled down in his spot beside the bed and closed his eyes to control his restlessness; a week of sitting around in a cell with nothing to do tended to get boring. Ed didn't seem to be having the same luck with controlling his nerves and every few seconds he was shifting around.

"Will they really go after Al and everyone else?" Ed asked quietly, finally stilling enough to ask the question that was bothering him.

Roy sighed as he dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, "I really don't know but he seemed pretty serious about this. Are you thinking of agreeing?"

Ed snorted, "Takes two, bastard. But there's no way in hell I want Al to be here and have everyone else die because we were just being fucking stubborn."

"True enough," Roy consented, then started to frown, "Fullmetal, when he was talking about 'plan C' did anything strike you as odd?"

"Such as?" he asked as he rolled over onto his side.

"Such as the fact that he had connections powerful enough to tear apart the team and send them off on missions."

Blond eyebrows rose, "Who did you piss of this time? Besides everyone in the military and on the dating scene I mean."

Roy shot him a dirty look and resisted the temptation to sink low enough to stick out his tongue, "It would have to be someone close enough to the Fuhrer that they can get away with a few mishaps before being frowned on. And rich enough to keep this plan going."

"Random question, what's going to happen to you once this is over?"

"Probably keep me around for more test subject material. It's highly doubtful that they will let us go after this."

It was quiet again and Roy turned to see what was wrong only to see the golden eyes focusing on the fingers that rested in the pillow. The teen seemed to be lost in a trance and the only sign of life was the tapping of fingers.

"I think we should agree, but not until tomorrow night."

Roy jerked at the random voice as he was suddenly caught in the hard gaze of the one on the bed. The two looked at each other silently until the obsidian eyes dragged themselves away to frown at the wall,

"Agreed. But I think we should talk to Tom about conditions first." Roy pushed himself up and went to knock politely on the door. The disgruntled voice of a guard answered and the two had a quiet conversation that ended with the sound of fading footsteps and Roy moving back to his spot on the floor.

After a few minutes of silence the footsteps returned, this time there being two sets, and the door was opened. Tom smiled at them as he entered; the guards behind him coming in just long enough to unfold a chair and leave.

"Missed me already?"

"I'd miss you more if you were dead." Ed grouched from the bed while Tom just laughed.

"That's all well and good, but for what reason was I called here?"

"If we agree to do this then Plan C will not be put into action, correct?"

Tom looked towards Roy and shrugged, "If you agree and behave then Plan C will be completely forgotten."

"Will we be allowed outside and be given humane treatment?"

"All depends on how you act. The more help you are to us the more freedoms you will get."

Ed propped himself up on his arm and watched the two men closely. Roy was sitting lazily on the floor with one knee propped up and his arm stretched out to rest on it while Tom was sitting forward on the chair with his elbows resting on his legs and his chin resting in his palms. Both looked relaxed but sparks were flickering between the two as eye contact persisted.

"Wouldn't it work better if we were willing? That way there is less chance of the fetus being harmed or a problem occurring because of toxins." Ed smirked when both sets of eyes snapped towards him, "I'm just sayin' that plans go more smoothly when people work together."

"True," Tom inclined his head in agreement, "Very well, in return for your cooperation we will allow you your demands."

"Actually I want to add another thing to the list. I want to be able to write and receive letters from Al." Ed suddenly grinned feral, "You will allow that won't you?"

Tom gazed at him before slowly nodding, "Yes, but on the condition that we write them, read them over and edit them to make sure you are not giving out any information. Now," he slapped his knees and stood, "I think everything is in order. Once we have proof of you carrying out your side of the bargain we will carry out ours."

"Does Nathanial know what you are up to?" Roy asked with what sounded like benign curiosity in his voice.

Tom smiled as he folded up the chair and passed it to the guard, "Nate is an idiot. As long as he has something to study and keep himself busy with he doesn't care about what happens with the rest of the plan. So, was that everything?"

"Actually there is one more thing. Can I have my leg back? Maybe not my automail one, but something that I can use to at least walk around with."

"I see no harm in it once you are pregnant."

"Jackass."

"I have a question," Roy broke in to cover Ed's name calling, "How do you know he will get pregnant 'normally'?"

"We don't. But there really is no harm in trying it this way first, now is there? Good night, gentlemen." Tom waved as he left the door clicking shut behind him.

"Well, that went well." Roy said airily.

"Says the one that doesn't have to get pregnant."

"Are you sure you are going to be ok with this?"

Ed opened his mouth to yell having totally expected another short joke, but closed it when he saw the man's cool façade shatter under the weight of stress and exhaustion. Glancing away, he sighed and moved over on the bed, "Things will work out. Come on, I bet the floor hasn't gotten any comfier over the past week and we might as well get use to sharing the bed."

Roy studied the tense profile before pushing himself up again and sliding into the bed, "Always ready with the logic, aren't you."

"Shut up, bastard. I can easily push you back onto the ground again."

"You haven't called me Colonel Bastard in a while," the elder commented lightly as he wrapped his arms around the other to bring them closer, and as protection against being pushed out of bed.

"Kind of hard to bring rank into this when we're both being locked in a cell to have sex. Besides, you haven't corrected me about it in a while."

"Touché."

Ed grumbled something back as warmth seeped into his body and the sound of Roy's heartbeat lulled him into the first real sleep he had had since coming here. He didn't even notice when his bedmate had rolled them so that he was partially on top of the raven's chest, or when fingers gently worked their way through his tangled waist length blond hair.

The door opened the next morning as the woman pushed the cart in that carried their breakfast. Roy looked up and blinked in surprise when she went right up to the bed instead of placing the food on the floor as per her usual way. She didn't say anything or change her facial expression at all as she went to the corner, leaving Roy the duty of waking Ed up.

He did so gingerly and smirked when the large eyes fluttered opened to focus on him,

"Good sleep?"

Ed reached up and smacked Roy's forehead V8 style, "Shut up, fucktard."

"Just as fun in the mornings as always." he commented dryly before motioning to the food, "Breakfast is here."

The other glanced over only to stare in surprise at the fact that the tray was sitting right there with the food on it. His gaze jerked up as he looked around suspiciously for the woman but didn't relax even when he had found her. That woman was pure evil and delighted in inventing new ways to force feed people, a sadistic delight that the two had discovered in their first couple days of staying here. It didn't help either that she never spoke nor had any expression, leading to Ed dubbing her as the Zombie Lady.

"I think there is something in the food." he whispered.

Roy shrugged as he munched on a bite of pancake, "There are worse things than vitamins and morning sex."

Ed made a face of disgust as he poked the syrup smothered stack, "Not when it's with you."

"Just eat it, shrimp."

Once again he opened his mouth to yell, only this time he wasn't stopped by sympathy but by a huge chunk of pancake being shoved into his mouth accompanied by the glib comment of, "We did agree to this. Besides, since you are so against this you should be thankful for the help."

There were times when a man was forced to admit his own defeat and this was one of them. With fierce determination Ed shoved the food down his throat and narrowly managed to avoid choking a couple of times. Roy calmly finished his food beside him and, having finished last, pushed the cart towards Ms. Zombie Lady who took it with her and left.

A guard came in next and took them each separately to the washroom, seeming impatient as he hustled them back and forth. Normally things were done leisurely and they were allowed time to take a quick shower but today all they were allowed to do was wipe off the syrup before being hustled back.

"You seem to be taking this pretty well." Ed commented as he was pushed back into the room in a wheelchair to see Roy settled back down on the bed with his hands behind his head.

"Our chances of being rescued increase once we have more freedom, and we achieve that by following their terms. Also, you said yourself that you would rather not have the team or Al put in any danger."

"I know that but- Fuck- this is happening a bit fast." he groused as he crawled onto the end of the bed and the chair was taken hastily away.

Roy locked their gazes and sat up, reaching to cup Ed's chin, "Once a plan is made and set in motion things usually happen pretty fast."

Ed licked his dry lips as the warmth he had felt pooling in his lower stomach spread to the rest of his body while his heart beat sped up. Heat was slowly entering the dark gaze that held him in place but the moment they dropped to his mouth he was free. Before they could flicker back up Ed leaned forward to press his lips against the older man's.

Roy stiffened then chuckled as he let the other lead, using that as a distraction to turn them around so that when he pushed forward they ended up lying properly on the bed. Taking his time while he could, he ran his tongue along Ed's bottom lip and strove forward the moment he was granted entrance. He could feel the body beneath his shiver as he allowed his hands to wander and dip beneath the thin fabric of the hospital robe.

They broke apart panting lightly as they both took off the pieces of clothing, neither noticing the cold air as their bodies thrummed with heat. Together they rejoined, Roy's teeth grazing the tan neck as Ed threw his head back, fingers desperately clamped in the ebony hair. The stinging pain was ignored as Roy concentrated on the next step, restraining himself harshly so that he didn't plunge right into his partner.

Both knew that this wasn't going to be a romantic, or even hot, first time, but neither cared. All that mattered was getting rid of the urge to mate, an urge completely animalistic that neither could deny. Trailing his assault on Edwards flesh downwards, Roy used one hand to balance himself while placing three fingers of his other hand against the teen's mouth.

Neither looked away as the fingers were taken in the moist cavern and the Flame Alchemist's teeth ground together at the feeling of the tongue that wound around the digits. Ed smirked as he continued his job liberally, pulling out all the stops until he was forced to stop. He could feel Roy move around between his legs but still jerked when something was pressed against his opening.

A hand clamped down firmly on his hip as the first finger pressed in, keeping him steady until the swipe of a tongue against his nipple served as enough distraction. While the mouth continued to abuse the sensitive skin the hand moved from its perch to skim over the golden curls before wrapping around the straining length.

Ed groaned and arched his body up as best he could. Roy shifted again to keep them both balanced while he changed sides and attacked the other pink nub. More fingers were slowly added, allowing the stretching pain to be swallowed up in the pleasure as the hand continued its magic. Pre cum that gathered at the tip of Ed's shaft was smeared down it as Roy's thumb brushed over the tip.

Judging the other was ready; Roy leaned up and caught Ed in an open mouthed kiss. Their tongues battled for dominance as the fingers were removed and the other hand went to Roy's erection. The moister from Ed and his own created a subtle lube that helped ease the friction as their bodies met.

Their kiss broke again as they tried to catch their breath while adjusting to the new sensations. All they could hear was their own heartbeats and the harsh pants that neither could control. After what seemed like forever, Ed gave an experimental buck of his hips and groaned along with Roy at the sensations that swarmed them.

At first the pace was slow, almost tentative, but lust quickly over road the two and the pace sped up to become almost brutal. Tongues, teeth and lips met again frantically as Ed clutched the other body nearer to him, almost losing it when he felt the hand return to his neglected erection. Hips strained together as the sound of skin hitting skin joined in the melody and the two gave in fully to their basic desires.

It almost ended too soon with Ed coming first and Roy a few seconds after, leaving them both gasping as they came down from their highs as Roy pulled out and flopped down on the bed next to the teen. They had just enough time to catch their breath before a new wave of heat crashed down on them, stronger, more intense.

They didn't look at each other this time as their bodies came together once more, both trying to ignore the embarrassment and resentment that came along with knowing that they were being used. It didn't matter anymore that they had agreed to it, all that did matter now was that they had no choice either way; and they knew it.

**Nate sat in his office, a look of contemplation stamped on his features. Half an hour ago a guard had come and told him that the two were 'going at it' and had requested the rest of the day off 'at least until the ruckus had gone down'. He knew that Tom was involved, but all he could was hope that whatever had happened to cause them to so suddenly agree did not affect the experiment at all; Tom had promised not to use any harmful chemicals but one never knew with him.**

'_Now all I have to concern myself with is discovering how the organs work within the male body, and if they do, to discover when Elric is pregnant.'_** He thought,**_ 'Nothing must go wrong in this. From now on I will oversee what is going on though I will leave the tedious tasks to others. The array is beckoning me constantly._

'_I will find out how it was created. I must.'_


	4. Celery Sticks and Stretches

Light shone through the small window of the two prisoner's new cell and coated the cement box in soft grey shadows. The room was just as bare as the last one except for the small washroom in the corner and the thicker sheets that covered the bed. After the two had upheld their part of the bargain Nate had decided that there would be no harm in upgrading them to a healthier room.

Ed sat propped up against Roy's chest on the bed, a celery stick twirling between his lips as he read the pages of his book. Roy was watching over his shoulder, holding the book in his hands while his arms wrapped securely around the tanned hips and his legs caging the blond in. It was a sitting arrangement that had developed over the weeks as they grew more accustomed to the situation and to each others presence. Clothes had been discarded not long ago, after they realized that there really was no purpose for them since they so rarely went out, and their only covering was a blanket that was draped over their legs that just barely covered Ed's pelvic region.

"I'm bored." Ed announced as he removed the half munched celery from his mouth.

Roy tried not to sigh in exasperation, "And what do you suggest we do?"

"A walk."

"You want to go for a walk."

"Shut up, Bastard. It's not like you have any better ideas, or like we're allowed to do anything else."

Roy rested his head against the golden hair as his lips pressed against the pulse that beat under the fragile skin at the juncture between Ed's neck and shoulder, "Lunch should be coming soon so we can ask then."

Ed learned his head back and glanced at the raven out of the corner of his eye, "You are steadily getting more touchy."

"As you are getting steadily more cuddly. Guess it kind of happens when there's nothing to do but sit around all day."

A soft knock disturbed their conversation and the two looked towards the door as it opened, watching the Zombie Lady complacently as she walked in with a trolley of food. Ed's face took on a distinctive green color as the smell hit him and Roy looked down in concern as he felt the muscles pressed against his chest ripple in unease.

"You feeling ok?" he murmured as his eyes followed the stoic presence uncover the trays that housed their lunch.

"I'm fine, just a stomach ache."

Roy frowned but let it go even as his hands slid up unconsciously to rest protectively over the mentioned body part. It had been almost a month since they had been captured but that was too soon wasn't it? Sure some people got pregnant on their first time but they weren't having _his_ child, and they sure as hell weren't Fullmetal.

"Sit up for a second," He instructed, only to have the blond huff softly and send him a nasty look while completely ignoring the order. Sighing miserably he forced himself to move into a fully upright position, pulling Ed's hips back along with the blanket so that younger alchemist followed in the ascent. All he got in thanks for his effort was a grunt as the other settled back down in the new position.

The Zombie Lady looked up as she folded the blanket over her arm then pushed the trolley to a stop beside the bed. Over time an understanding had grown between the three people, they would eat and make her job simpler if she made things a bit easier for them. Roy and Ed very rarely moved from the bed during the hours they were confined, only moving to go to the washroom or to stretch their legs.

Days were organized in a loose time table, now starting with breakfast at nine and then free time until lunch. The two were allowed to have a few hours outside to exercise and catch up on sun but they were still constantly watched even though everyone knew that running it would be futile. After lunch came checkups followed by more free time until supper and then it was time for washing and then more free time.

Free time was actually the time set aside for them to work on reproducing but they were granted books, going outside, swimming and the occasional card game. Time still passed slowly and, while they tried to get along for the sake of their sanities, fights still broke out between the two. After one particularly vicious argument that had gotten physical, Tom had appeared and introduced them to the joys of 'chemically induced make-up sex'.

"Has Tom talked to you about writing to Al or about your leg?" Roy asked curiously as he awkwardly placed the forkful of food in his mouth.

Ed shrugged as he settled his plate down on his lap, "I get both when this all pays off."

"And what is my favorite couple discussing upon this lovely hour?" a familiar voice called from the doorway.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Roy muttered as his dark eyes flashed and Ed could feel the man tense.

"What the hell do you want?" the blond alchemist grumbled as he pressed back gently to remind Roy that if he tried to attack the other man there would be some obstacles in the way.

"Nate is getting rather impatient with how this is all going, along with some of our sponsors, so I am here to check and see how you are doing."

"We already have that seedy little doctor checking up on us." Roy answered as he dropped his fork back onto the tray.

"Oh I know, but I figured you probably missed me."

Ed's eyes narrowed as he watched Tom's slowly drift over them. Roy had always had a problem with Tom and before he had just thought it was because this man was their captor, but now he was sure it was something else. There was no lust in doctor's gaze so it wasn't that, but there was a hunger as if he craved what he saw but wasn't allowed to have it.

"Can't say that we have. Mind leaving now?" the Flame Alchemist's voice was just strained enough that only those that knew him would be able to tell.

Tom grinned and turned his attention to the bed's other occupant, "Ed, would you mind standing up? Roy can help you I'm sure."

Ed could feel the limbs around him tighten to keep him trapped but he pushed them off and sat up, glaring at his partner to help him. Roy did and for a second the teen took time to wonder at how the man managed to keep muscles like that just by sitting around. Amused black met annoyed gold and the two stared down each other as the raven slid his arm snuggly around the slender waist.

Tom moved forward and gently ran his hands down Ed's chest and stomach, watching his face for any signs of discomfort. Tension was thick in the air but everyone was pretending to not notice, even Zombie Lady in the corner was acting more indifferent than usual.

"So?" Ed asked impatiently as he shifted away from the cold, probing fingers.

"Hmmm. It's a bit early to tell but we're going to start being careful none-the-less. Tomorrow we will get a woman for you to talk to so you know what to expect."

"I'm not going to talk to a random woman." Ed growled

"You would rather go through this alone with nothing to prepare you?"

"I'd rather talk to someone I trust!"

"So you want us to kidnap someone else? I suppose there is that woman, Gracia I believe, who is close to you and has a child."

Roy suddenly froze and it was all Ed could do to keep himself from attacking the man.

"I'll do it," a monotone voice came from the shadows and the three males turned to look at the Zombie Lady in surprise. She gazed back at them with no expectancy and waited patiently for the shock to pass.

"Well, is that acceptable?" Tom asked as he turned back to the two.

Ed nodded as he watched the woman, deciding that she was the best option of the three he was given especially since he didn't want to leave Elicia without a mother too. Beside him he could feel Roy nod also and knew the man was thinking the same thing.

"Smashing. You can start tomorrow," Tom said as he pointed to the woman, "Just push the tray into the hallway when lunch is over and someone else will take it to the kitchen."

She inclined her head politely and Roy could almost hear Ed's teeth grinding so he spoke up,

"One last thing. We would like to go for a walk tonight."

Tom paused to think it over before nodding, "I'll see what can be done and will send clothes if it is possible," the business like air suddenly vanished as he stretched, "I would really like to stay a bit longer but I am afraid I have to get going. So much stuff needs to be done these days, it's insane!" he laughed and looked towards Roy, "We will be moving you in a few days so start saying your good byes now wont you?"

Roy's breath hissed through his teeth as the man left and his hand slid from around Ed's waist as his other ran tiredly through his ebony hair.

"What's going on between you two?" Ed asked as he plopped back down onto the bed to resume eating.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Colonel."

"Then let me rephrase: It's nothing you have to worry about."

"Stop treating me as if everything thing will break me. I'm not some shitty China Doll."

"Might not break you but there is a chance you will get squished."

"You implying anything, 'cause if you are you can sleep on the floor tonight."

"Would never dream of it." Roy muttered as he sat down beside the fuming blond and started to pick at his food.

The rest of the meal was eaten in a tense but comfortable silence as the chirping of small birds came through the window. It was open and a small breeze had started to pick up, sending shivers down Roy's back as his body protected Ed's against the chilly nip. Daylight was fading already as the season plugged its way onward, growing steadily colder.

"What's your name?" Ed suddenly asked as he put his empty plate on the tray. Roy paused what he was doing and glanced over, also curious.

Zombie Lady looked up from examining the wall and her dark eyes remained like glass, "Elizabeth Heckner."

"You have children?"

"I had a miscarriage three years ago."

Ed became quiet as Roy set the plate down and Elizabeth came to take the cart away. Her eyes connected with theirs and nether missed the brief flash of emotion that slid through her gaze. It was like a more intimate understanding had been established without their consent and all three knew it.

The door opened again as the doctor that Roy had mentioned before came in and handed them robes that they were supposed to wear. Elizabeth left silently as the two prisoners started their daily dose of torture that was laughingly termed as 'exercise'. By now the doctor's presence was well accepted in the room and treated as a pest would be, ignored but responded to none-the-less.

"You think they figured out the circle?" Ed asked as he pulled the thin material over his head.

"No, but has to be something else they are trying to figure out."

"Or else they don't want you to interfere, meddling bastard that you are."

"Why thank you Fullmetal, but you give me too much credit."

"That wasn't a compliment- Oww! No need to be so rough, I'm not made of elastic bands."

"For someone who just said that he wasn't easily hurt you are complaining an awful lot." Roy commented lightly as he raised his arms over his head to loosen up.

"Shut up. Just wait until it's your turn and then we'll see who is complaining."

"I'm sorry but I missed that. Try projecting your voice more, that way the words might actually be able to reach my ears."

"You just like pushing your luck, dontcha?"

"Mr. Elric, please calm down! We haven't finished yet." Dr. Skeeters' thin voice broke through their verbal bantering and they paused to look at him. Ed had forgotten all about the stretches and was glaring daggers at the other man, while Roy had been calmly doing some warm up exorcises even though his fingers had instantly gone into the 'snap' position.

"Whatever." the younger alchemist muttered while Roy smirked and the rest of the hour was spent in near silence except for the odd jab and stuttered orders.

A guard opened the door to usher the doctor out and walked back in carrying a prosthetic leg instead of the normal wheelchair. He was a young looking man, mid twenties, and from the start had gotten on both of their nerves. Ed winced as the man clumsily tried to put it on and Roy must have seen because soon the slender, pale hands had replaced the fumbling ones.

"There," Roy said as he finished the last strap and shoved their feet into shoes, "We're ready to go."

Ed stood up and almost fell as he tried to get adjusted to the new leg, "Where did this piece of shit come from?"

"Stop complaining, brat. Mr. Jefferson said that that is the leg you will be using from now on so you better thank him for his generosity."

"Does someone have a crush on that pervert?" Ed sang mockingly.

"Shut up you faggot! You're nothing but a damn experiment."

"A very important experiment, now get on with it and take us outside," Roy broke in and placed his hand on his companions lower back to guide him forward, "Let's get moving, Fullmetal."

"Stow it Colonel Bastard, you too jackass." Ed gave the guard the middle finger as he hobbled through the door ahead of his superior.

Roy ducked his head and grinned as he followed, listening to the cursing that was muttered under their guard's breath.

No one could say that being captured with Fullmetal was boring.

Roy lay in the bed as he waited for Ed to return from the shower, pillows propping him up as he stared at the wall in front of him. Everything had been the same as the days before but Tom's voice still echoed in his head, constantly reminding him that tomorrow would be different, tomorrow would change everything.

Ed limped into the room, leaning heavily on a cane that was taken the moment he collapsed onto the bed, or rather onto Roy. The Flame Alchemist's breath hissed out between his teeth as the blond settled down to stare up at the ceiling.

"What do you think will happen tomorrow?"

Roy slid his fingers through the long gold strands and waited until he could breathe normally before answering, "I don't know."

Ed bit down gently on his bottom lip as his eyes narrowed in thought before he pushed himself up and settled down to straddle Roy's lap, "Don't you dare die on me." he hissed.

Roy looked up at him curiously before frowning, "I'm not going to die. They still need me until they are sure that you are pregnant."

That seemed to be answer enough and the blond leaned down to gently press their lips together to seal the promise before laying back down and pressing his ear against the older man's heartbeat. The steady tempo had served as a lullaby ever since they had arrived, keeping the thoughts and dreams at bay as his breathing did the same for Roy.

Tomorrow was a day neither wanted to face and their bodies twined together in sleep, both seeking comfort in the short lived hours that were left.


	5. Black Lemons

Ed yawned and turned his head back to look over his shoulder as the colonel slumbered peacefully behind him, their bodies curled up tight against each other. Light barely trickled through the crack under the door and window but there was enough to make out the planes of his companion's face and without thought he brought his finger up to trace the pale lips. They parted slightly as Roy sighed gently and stirred in wakefulness, his eyes slowly opening as Ed grinned down.

"Morning."

"Mnph. There a reason you woke me up before breakfast?"

"Not my fault you're a light sleeper."

"Habit I picked up from Ishbal." Roy muttered as he rubbed sleep from his eyes, "Fuck it Fullmetal, there has to be at least two hours left before nine."

Ed grinned with sadistic pleasure as he watched the other man struggle between waking up and going back to sleep. Neither of them were morning people but the day had an edge to it that made their bodies strum with the need to stay awake and be prepared even if their minds rebelled against such action. There was always the possibility that nothing would happen but the knowledge that eventually they would be separated made them tense, and that it could happen at any given moment made it worse.

"You know, I think I might actually miss you and your bastardly ways." he said lightly as he rolled onto his side to face said bastard.

"Don't," Roy growled, "Don't talk like we won't get out of here together."

"We have to be realistic here. There is a chance that one of us might not get away, or that neither of us will." Ed said gently as he brushed the ebony strands with his fingertips. Mustang hadn't been on a mission in years so he could understand why the colonel was trying to be so optimistic, but for one who had been on life threatening missions for over five years of his life that optimism was a bit hard to find.

Roy reached up grabbed the fingers only to bring them to his mouth and place a gentle kiss on each, "We will get out of here, I promise."

Ed stared into dark gaze that flickered with a discernible flame and couldn't help but feel the relaxing presence of confidence that came with those words. All these years he had watched others, and even found himself following this man's orders unquestionably without really knowing why. Until today.

Leaning forward, he slid his lips leisurely against the ones that were pressed firmly together and nipped the bottom lip. Roy pulled his head back and gazed at his bedmate with eyes at half mast, a gentle smirk making his expression more open. Ed waited patiently for the whole of two seconds before chasing after the taste of cinnamon that resided in the raven's mouth.

Their lips connected again in a lazy kiss as the younger alchemist was pulled closer against the firm body, Roy's thumb gently stroking his hip as he arched up. Another hand snaked under his body to pull him on top into a more comfortable position while his hair fell around them like liquid gold as their tongues sought each other out. Slender fingers wondered down Ed's back before slipping between the two bodies and gently wrapping around the hardening flesh to coax it into fullness.

Both were panting as their hips ground down together into the hand, soft groans escaping their mouths as the ruling dominance kept switching between masters. Saliva glistened on their lips as they pulled apart, Ed's head thrown back in ecstasy as Roy bit against the golden column of skin that arched above him. Tongue and teeth blazed their path down the smooth canvas of skin and stopping when they met the delicate rise that marked the collar bone.

Ed groaned as the hand moved from between their bodies but he forgot to mourn its loss as they were flipped and the action caused a particularly hard grind. Roy grinned above him as they made eye contact and the first finger pressed against the his entrance while the devious tongue gently brushed against the sensitive skin of Ed's nipple, causing the teen's breath to escape through his teeth with a hiss.

A second finger joined the first before pushing in, pre cum serving as lube to ease the passage as the muscles were loosened. Ed couldn't stop his hips from rolling up against the toned stomach as Roy moved down his body, the cinnamon flavored mouth taunting the flesh beneath it. He could feel warm air ghost over the thin path of blond hairs of his treasure trail as the other man's tongue dipped into his belly button. His stomach muscles tensed as his eyes drifted closed while his head tilted back and moans slipped between his parted lips.

The third finger slipped in unnoticed as Roy nipped the plane of skin at Ed's hip before moving down, taking his time to leisurely taste the body beneath him. Swears and broken sentences filled the silence as his tongue darted out to lick the underside of the blonds' erection before doing the same to the scrotum. Ed jerked as the most sensitive parts of his body were played with, slender fingers joining in to brush against his tip before stroking downwards. Inside of him the fingers curled as they stroked against something that had the lithe body arching off the bed.

"Hurry up, damnit. " Ed panted as he opened his eyes to glare, but found himself smirking instead as he watched the normally pale features of his partner glow with arousal, and let go of the sheets in favor to run his fingers through the ebony strands. Roy looked up at him as he withdrew the fingers, the teen being unable to hold back the sound of disapproval that this action caused, and chuckled as he moved back up to accept a heated kiss while his other hand drifted down to his own neglected member to smear it with the milky liquid.

The steady pressure pushed against Ed's opening, warned him of the coming intrusion that he so desperately craved. Roy seemed just as impatient but he held himself in check to allow the muscles to relax around him as he pushed forward in shallow thrusts. The teen growled and arched up harshly, causing them both to moan and effectively putting an end to any thoughts of taking it slow as Roy rolled them over on to their sides.

Ed hooked a leg around Roy's hips to pull them closer, their mouths meshing hungrily and the taste of cinnamon taking over the blonds' senses. Sharp teeth bit down on his bottom lip, drawing blood that mixed in to the taste and causing his tongue to dart out to check the damage. Roy seemed to have planned for it and Ed realized that he had fallen into a trap as his tongue was drawn into the other's mouth and sucked.

Their hips moved together, the sweet spot within Ed being hit with each thrust as they held on to each other with near bruising force that neither noticed. The younger alchemist felt a shiver race down his spine at the soft noises that unconsciously poured from Roy's throat, those sounds being more of a turn on then any dirty talk the colonel could try.

A hand reached down between them and wrapped around Ed's drenched member, matching the pace that their hips had set. Ed needed no other encouragement as he cried out in release, feeling Roy shudder within him moments after as the other man bit down over the pulse in the blonds' neck.

They lay together panting until Ed felt Roy move away to pull out and grab the sheet at the end of the bed to use for them to clean up. After having lived like this for so long the feel of dried sweat and semen was no longer as disturbing as it had been, but it was still an undesirable feeling that they tried to avoid when they could.

"Next time let's try to avoid the morning breath." Roy said as he opened the window then stretched back down, lazily spooning around the warm body as the crisp air flowed in.

"Shut up Bastard. You didn't have to go along with it if you didn't want to. 'There are worse things than morning sex' and bad breath comes with that."

"You seem a little high strung today."

"Maybe a little." Ed admitted as he shivered from the cold air and pressed back into the reassuring presence that had him wrapped in a loose embrace.

Ed felt as Roy brushed his lips against the back of his head before getting up again and closing the window. The sheets rustled around him as Ed rolled over to watch his mate, not knowing that his eyes glittered in the dim light like the metal they mimicked.

Roy looked at him curiously and propped himself against the wall with a pillow between his back and the cold surface, "What are you thinking about, Fullmetal?"

The use of his military name made him frown just as much as having the pillow stolen from him did. "Just about how much has changed, Colonel Bastard." he said dryly, causing Roy to laugh.

"General Bastard, actually. Didn't I tell you I got promoted before being sent out to find you?"

"What the fuck?" Ed swore as he punched the bastard's leg, "Why didn't you tell me till now?"

"You were the one that said that rank doesn't matter here," Roy chided, "And it's not like you are going to stop calling me Colonel anyways. You sure I didn't tell you?"

Ed still seethed as he settled down again, "Might have, but I don't remember anything."

A gentle knock disturbed their conversation and they both looked up as the door was pushed open and the Zombie Lady entered with their breakfast. Neither moved as she walked up to the bed with the trolley before departing to one of the corners while they ate. Usually they ignored each other but the past few days had broken the tension between them and today, for the first time, they managed to draw her into a stress free conversation. It was all small talk but it was enough to let them forget for a few minutes of where they were and what was going on.

Breakfast ended too soon and the tension returned as she took away their empty dishes without making eye contact.

"Mr. Jefferson will be moving Roy late tonight or early tomorrow," she finally said as the last plate was set away, "and he wants me to start talking to you today some time after breakfast."

Roy and Ed looked at each other, warring between the happiness of knowing they wouldn't be parted right away and the dread of knowing that it was coming.

"Take care of him." Roy said at last as he looked back at her.

Ed snorted in disbelief, "Shut up, dumbass. I don't need a protector and you know it. If I did then I would be dead by now from all those missions you sent me on."

He could feel the other man tense beside him but ignored it as he turned his attention over to the female that was watching them with her normal expression and motioned to his stomach as he asked, "What do I need to know about this?"

"How much do you know?"

"Scientifically, nearly everything. From a personal standpoint, very little."

She nodded and stepped back, "We'll start after I change your sheets and you have a shower."

Ed grunted at the reminder of what they had been doing less than an hour before she showed up and grabbed the two robes that were hidden under the bed for occasions such as this. Roy got the larger one, the bastard, and Ed waited patiently for Zombie Lady to help him put the prosthetic leg on. Once that was done he got up to take his shower first, his foot instantly freezing as he set it down on the floor. A hand on his arm stopped him and he turned around for Roy to silently tie the robe closed, his expression never changing from its serious one as Ed nodded his thanks and headed out.

The guard met him in the hallway and wisely ignored the muttered curses that spewed from the blond mouth as the robe was pulled closer around him to block the chill. At least the bathroom was semi warm and the water that poured over his body was perfect, allowing him to take his time to wash thoroughly. His hand paused over his stomach and he looked down to gaze at it wondrously, so many things had happened in the past month but it was the fact that people thought that he was able to get pregnant that got to him. So much for a normal life after leaving the military.

He took his time getting ready for the day and by the time he left the bathroom the guard was looking thoroughly pissed, even if he didn't say anything. Without Roy there to tie the robe shut, Ed was forced to hold it closed and the soft whispers that followed him down the halls had him grinding his teeth in both anger and trepidation.

When he got back the sheets were changed and Roy was sitting on the floor against the wall that faced the door. Their eyes locked the moment Ed stepped in and he went to crouch in front of the raven,

"Get off your ass, go wash and stop worrying."

"Don't get stepped on." Roy warned as he pushed himself up, ignoring the death glare that was aimed at his back.

"I thought we were done with the cheap shots! Bastard!" Ed shouted as he settled on the bed and pulled the blankets around him, all but pouting as he stared at the door.

"Would you like to start the talk now?" a feminine voice drew his attention and he looked at the Zombie Lady for a few seconds before nodding and motioning to the end of the bed that was unoccupied.

"Might as well."

She took his invitation to sit and by the time Roy had come back they were deep in conversation about what to expect in his first trimester. It was a bit difficult for Elizabeth to exactly predict what he would feel but they talked about common symptoms, adding the tender midriff as a very likely one. Ed had moved over as Roy sat down beside them, not even noticing their actions until he saw the small twitch at the corner of the woman's mouth.

"You two are like a married couple." She said as she stood up an hour later, "You move together to complete each other's actions and you argue over little things just to remind yourselves of each other's presence."

The two looked at each other, the golden features drawn into a wince while the pale were set in amusement.

"In all honesty I think I have better taste then to marry a conceited bastard." Ed grumbled as he poked the sculpted side.

"And I think I have better sense then to marry a shrimp." Roy shot back in his normal, cool tone.

"You want me to kill you?" was growled back as the large expressive eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Think you could reach high enough?"

"Edward," Zombie Lady broke in, "I have also been given permission to write the letters to your brother for you after our morning talks but not until tomorrow. Think about what you want to say tonight and tomorrow we will write it down."

Ed looked back at her and nodded, giving her the pure smile that he usually reserved for Al or Winry, "Thanks."

She nodded and the mask immediately settled back in place as she headed out, the door clicking shut ominously behind her.

"She's nice when she's not evil." Ed commented lightly as he stretched, freezing in shock when he noticed that he was still wearing the fake leg.

"Guess she just gave up on distancing herself." The Flame said as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Someone's getting old."

A dark glare was leveled at the smirking teen, "If someone hadn't woken me up this morning I would have been fine."

"You seemed pretty into it, Grandpa. Besides, I'm in the same boat but I'm not dying of exhaustion. Think of what would become of your reputation once it gets out that you're only good for one round."

"It must be hard keeping so much aggression contained in such a small body. Is that why you have such an explosive temperament?"

"Oh sure, bring out the short jokes now." Ed grouched.

Roy chuckled as peace was restored and got up to go to the door and ask the guard for any books that might have been set aside for them. When he came back to the bed he had a thick tome on alchemy and a small paperback that looked fairly new. Ed watched the tome with eager eyes as it was set on his lap but he waited for Roy to be settled behind him before opening it and devouring the words with its depths, leaving Roy to follow suit with his novel.

Lunch came all too soon and Ed was given a larger amount due to his -hopefully- eating for two, to which Roy teased the teen by saying: "You'll finally be able to eat the same amount as a normal sized person now!" Needless to say Ed was not very pleased at that comment and they bantered all through stretching exercises and would have continued through the medical checkup if it hadn't been for Nathanial showing up himself.

The man could have been examining a corpse for all the kindness he showed and every so often he would jot down something in his leather notebook before continuing. Ed shivered as the cold hands poked and prodded, sometimes wincing as they pressed against tender spots.

"We can't know for sure until he is further along but I think it would be alright to separate them and give their bodies a rest. Just don't ruin the Flame Alchemist; if there is no sign of child within the next month then we will have to put them together again." Nathanial said as he turned towards the doorway in which Tom stood watching them.

The man just nodded and smiled as he looked back at the two, "Hope you two said your good byes. Roy, your room is ready for you if you would please follow me."

A guard stepped forward with a pair of handcuffs that he placed around the man's wrists as the two alchemists looked at each other in shock. It was too early!

"Get going ya fag." the young guard hissed as he shoved Roy forward.

Tom stepped aside to let them pass then looked back at Ed with a tiny smile, "There, now you won't have that bastard pestering you all day."

The group left, leaving Ed to stare at the door before he rushed to the small bathroom and vomited. Elizabeth found him there, lying on the floor in the cramped space, a few hours later when she brought supper. Ed could feel her hands gently brush the hair from his face as she cradled him against her body, turning his head into her shoulder as his body wracked with silent but powerful sobs.

He didn't remember when he was finally moved to the bed or when Nathanial was summoned back to check on him, but he did remember staring up at the ceiling hours later in the dark and listening for the steady heartbeat that had been his pillar. When he did manage to fall asleep it was hours later and to the single thought of:

"_What else can they take from me?"_


	6. Clocks and Knox

Ed sat propped up against the cold wall with a new massive book settled across his thighs. It had been two weeks since Roy had been taken and in all that time they had not been allowed to talk or see each other. The days seemed to drag on as the only things worth living for were writing to Al and the innocent being that just might be growing inside of him.

His hand went to rest against his stomach as the written words were left in favor of staring at the wall across from him. Zombie Lady had said that today she had a surprise for him as the usual mirror like reflection in her eyes cracked to show her concern and a desperation that threatened to hide the mischievous glint underneath. As far as he knew, there was nothing within her power that she could get that he wanted and the dead gold stare he gave her had expressed that perfectly.

The door opened softly, snapping him out of his thoughts as his gaze drifted over to see who it was. No emotions passed over his features as he saw Nate, he just grew even more disinterested and went back to staring at the wall, not noticing the way the man's eyebrows drew together in a frown. Nate remained in the doorway and Ed could feel the gaze taking in everything, from his tangled hair to the shadows under his eyes.

"Come now, Nate, you really can't be serious." Tom whined from behind his friend.

"I am perfectly serious. You said he would be fine within a few weeks and as far as I can tell he is just getting worse. The health of the child comes before your little games." Nate hissed as he turned around to glare at the other man.

"You'll regret this."

"As will you if you keep stalling. Go get him or you will be finding yourself out of this organization. We have too much riding on this pregnancy for you to ruin it with your stubbornness."

Ed looked up, life returning to his eyes for the first time in weeks, and he watched Devil Incarnate 1 storm away as Devil Incarnate 2 turned back. Their eyes met before the man took a shallow breath,

"We are going to let you see Roy Mustang every once in a while but in return you have to look after yourself."

The golden eyes widened then narrowed again as he forced a simple question from his throat,

"Why?"

Nate moved to sit on the end of the bed and Ed shifted his body away slightly as he focused completely on the man in front of him.

"If I can't create the array again this child will be one of a kind, my only test subject to see effects of a male pregnancy," Nate leaned closer, "And not only that, but the parents of this particular child is the Fullmetal Alchemist, a child prodigy, and the Flame alchemist, a hero of Ishbal. Think of the genius this child will have!"

Ed growled as dark loathing crawled under his skin, sending a shiver up his spine that he barely managed to hide. Nate seemed unconcerned and looked towards the door as it was thrown forcefully open as Roy stumbled in with Tom right behind him. The colonel looked worse for wear; his dark hair was shaven down into a buzz cut while the robe did nothing to hide how thin the man had become. But there was still a spark that glittered in his dark eyes that made Ed breathe a sigh of relief and made it possible to give his customary, albeit shaky, smirk.

"I wonder what all the girls in that little black book of yours would think if they could see their pretty boy right now."

"You're not looking so hot either, Fullmetal."

"Shut up, you bastard! We'll see what you look like after being locked away and knocked up."

"It appears as if you were wrong, Thomas; within seconds there is already an improvement. I want you to stop with your experiment until the child is born." Nate said coolly, his voice bringing their attention back to him.

"Nate, you are being completely unreasonable! You said I could have him-"

"When there was no chance of the fetus dying!"

Ed glanced over at Roy and motioned for the man to come over and join him; the way the man all but collapsed on the bed caused him to frown in concern as he went back to gazing at their two captors. Tom was glaring steadily at his partner as said partner turned his attention back to Ed,

"We'll be back in two hours."

The click of the door sounded their departure and Ed's attention immediately returned to his partner. The book was, amazingly, dropped to the floor in a forgotten heap as he cradled the raven against his chest in a one armed hug, "What are they doing to you, Roy?"

The man gave a quiet chuckle as he relaxed for the first time in weeks, "Something not humane. We have to escape soon, before either of us can't make it."

Ed repressed the cold shiver that worked its way up his spine, instead blandly whispering, "What do you have planned?"

The weight in his arms shifted as Roy firmly encouraged him to lie down and a warm weight settled over his lower torso. He could feel the other's breath as his soon-to-be growing stomach was nuzzled and Ed ran his fingers through the black stubble.

"Do you know a transmutation circle that could make you a fake arm?" Roy murmured as soon as he got comfortable.

Ed closed his eyes as he thought then slowly nodded, "The arm wouldn't have anything on my automail, but it would allow me to clap."

Roy nodded and when he looked up his eyes were hard, "I want you to break off one of your wood toes and give it to me then use the blood from the cut I'm going to make on my hand and use it to draw the array."

"How are you going to get a spark though? If it really were that simple then we would have done this ages ago!"

"We'll have to leave that to luck and timing. You're good at destroying things and drawing attention, so chances are a light is going to explode or someone is going to shoot a gun."

"Will that actually work?"

"That is why I said we'll have to leave it to luck. Are you ready for this?"

Ed looked away, "If we do get out, what is going to happen after? There is no way I'm going to be able to give birth the normal way, and if we're on the run then we can't just show up on one of our friend's doorstep."

"Leave that to me, ok?"

Ed looked back at him as Roy pushed himself up just enough so that their lips could brush in a chaste kiss. It was disturbingly easy for him to nod and one again place his trust in the man that had been a dominate force since the days following his failed attempt to bring back his mother. Even the small smirk that seemed glued to Roy's mouth was comforting, a sign that they could be beaten but never broken.

"All right, Bastard, let's do this. Grab me the robe under the bed while I sit up and break off that toe." Ed didn't bother waiting as he sat back up, but there wasn't any need to as Roy was already off him and searching for the garment.

The sound of his wooden pinky toe snapping off had to of been one of the most disturbing things he had ever heard; but there was no time to be sentimental as Roy snatched it from his fingers and used to cut over the faded scars. It only took seconds for Roy to draw the fully healed parts of the array, and a few more seconds for Ed to dip his fingers into the welling blood and draw the appropriate symbol on the bed frame. Blue flashes of energy filled the small room and almost immediately the door was flung open.

The guard had no time to react, Roy was already there. Ed had never seen him get physical in a fight, let alone kill someone with his bare hands, but that was exactly what happened. The guard's pharynx was forcefully caved in, cutting off his yell for help as he tumbled to the floor. Roy followed him down to grab the gun and to keep him still while Ed used the extra time to rip up the bedding.

"Roy! I need some help." Ed called as he tried and failed to attach the makeshift arm.

"Take the gun and hope we don't have to use it just yet." Roy said as he got up and all but shoved the dangerous metal device into the other's hand.

Ed did as he was told and kept an eye on the door, looking away only once to glare at the other man when the binding was pulled too tight. They could already hear the other guards coming to investigate the disturbance and Roy Grabbed the gun before going back to search the guard. He didn't seem to find what he wanted and Ed couldn't help but grin at the affronted expression the man had.

The voices and footsteps came closer and the two looked at each other. Ed frowned as Roy suddenly looked away and the soft click of the safety being taken off was louder than any of the yelling. This was a day of firsts, and Ed had seen many sides of Roy in their battle against the homunculus, but he had never seen the cold eyes of a killer on this man's face before.

"I'll get you and the child out, I promise." Roy whispered before turning to the door.

"Just make sure you get out with us. No child of mine is going to grow up without a father." Ed called back then turned to face the wall. Gunshots rang out in the hallway but he didn't even blink, just clapped his hands together and pressed them against the base of the wall with the window. A door took shape under his guidance and he shoved it open, taking time to glance at the courtyard.

Bullets tore up the ground around him but none hit. Obviously orders from Nate… Ed didn't bother wasting anymore thought on that and never noticed the smirk curled his lips, the expression rivaling Roy's in coldness. These were the people that allowed this to happen, that agreed enough with the experiments to actually join in. These were the people that would go after Al and there was no fucking way he was going to let that happen.

His hands came together again, this time to be settled on the ground. Spikes tore up the earth ahead to him and spread out until they reached the wall where the guards were and tore it down. Roy appeared at his shoulder and as one they raced across the open space. Shots continued to ring out around them and Ed glanced over in time to see a tranquilizer dart burry itself just a bit to his right.

Roy must have seen one too and he skidded to a stop. Ed did the same and started to open his mouth to swear at the idiot when the words were halted in their tracks by a pile of two uniforms being tossed in his face. Roy must have found a lighter in one of the guard's pockets and was turning it from an assistant cancer causer to a lethal weapon. This was a full out war and the Flame was not going easy on the enemy, his flames utterly destroying the building where the shots had come from.

There were still shooters ahead of them but Ed had built a wall between them and waited for Roy. Guards continued to pour out like ants from the brickwork but the rubble slowed them down enough that they couldn't reach the two alchemists.

While Roy was busy picking off the snipers, Ed was concentrating on getting a path clear for them. The ground ahead of him tore up once more, but instead of spikes it was two walls that crashed through the remains of the of the old one. The clothes were picked up from the ground where they had been dropped as Roy aimed one last strike then turned and pushed Ed forward.

The blond stumbled but managed to right himself and get use to the feeling of running with the replacement leg. Roy stayed close beside him and he could smell the blood and sweat coming from the other man. The ground was still treacherous and a pile of rubble lay between them and freedom.

Ed narrowed his eyes as they drew closer and passed off the uniforms to Roy before gathering himself up and leaping. His fall was anything but graceful, the force of the uneven impact sending him rolling, but once again Roy was there to pull him up and forward.

"You would think with you being the Flame Alchemist and all that you would be a bit warmer." Ed complained as they sat huddled together under the draping branches of a large evergreen.

"Pardon me for making flame and not storing it in my body." Roy grumbled back as he pulled the stolen jackets closer around them. They were already wearing the pants and boots, but it still left much to be desired.

Edwards robe was wrapped around their legs while Roy's was torn up and used to bandage his wounds. All five of them were just nicks from the bullets, mainly on his legs, but they were potential disasters if left untreated.

"Apology not accepted. So what are we supposed to do now, Bastard? We got out but there are still those two to deal with and all their sponsors. Luck is only going to get us so far."

"We're going to find Dr. Knox."

"What the fuck? How are we supposed to find him when we don't even know where we are?"

"I'm ashamed of you, Fullmetal. We're north east of Central, near the border. Surely you noticed the weather and the certain plants that are unique to this area."

"Aren't you just a smug little bastard-"

"Can it be? Edward Elric has just said the 'l' word! Now I know this is all just a dream."

"Knock it off. You better not be getting feverish or I will personally kill you," Ed growled, "How much further until we reach a town?"

"That I don't know, but it's going to take a while."

Silence fell over them as they took up with their own thoughts until it was finally broken by an innocent enough question:

"What do you think happened to Zombie Lady?"

Ed could feel the body behind him tense and immediately frowned in worry.

"She died." Roy said around clenched teeth, "But she took that guy Nate with her and let me get a hit on Tom. I never expected it from her; I thought I was going to have to take her down too. Instead she turned around and stabbed Nate in the chest before one of the guards shot her."

"I wonder why she did that."

"She wanted to protect you, and our child. We were her last shot at having a family."

"A strange, dysfunctional family." The blond commented but closed his eyes and leaned his head back, "We also killed people today."

"No one ever accused us of being perfect; life is a fight for survival, and that is what we did. We had no choice." Even though he said it calmly there was no hiding the strain in his voice, as if he was trying to convince himself and not Ed.

"But where is the equivalent exchange in this? Nothing can equal another person's life!"

"I know, Ed."

Those three words, and the pain in his companion's voice, were enough to make any other words stick in his throat. Life was harsh but they had to deal the hand that they were given, no matter what the outcome would be.


	7. Road Kill

"Do you even know where you are going?"

Roy was beginning to really detest those words, especially with them being repeated in a constant mantra over the last few days. When he got back he was going to nominate Al for sainthood for putting up with the blond midget.

"I know where we are going," he said simply.

"Then I think it's about time I rephrased that: are we lost?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course we are; we haven't been 'unlost' since we got taken."

There was a snort behind him as he turned to help Ed over a fallen tree, "Good to know you're still a snide bastard, but I'm serious. This replacement leg is causing me to bleed, your wounds are starting to get infected, and we haven't eaten anything of substance in days."

"Stop being so dramatic and save your energy. I think there is a small town just a bit further where we can find a way to contact the others."

"People aren't too fond of strangers in small towns; besides, we have no idea if it will be safe or not. Tom is not stupid; he's got to have set up surveillance in all the close towns."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" He finally ground out while turning around again only to be met with vacant gold eyes, "Ed?"

"Give me a second to think," The blond grumbled as he sat down with his back against a tree, "You're going to have to sneak into one of the houses tonight and grab things they won't notice missing for some time. A knife, some clothes, food, and medicine."

Roy crouched down in front of the other, "I'll get what I can. Can you walk any further?"

The glare he received for that question almost made him laugh; he had gotten that exact same affronted look when he had given him the assignment to check out the building. Ed didn't seem anywhere as amused as he slapped at a mosquito that was trying to land on his neck with a single minded viciousness while making no effort to stand up. Glares and actions were two different things.

"You want a piggyback now, Fullmetal? Never thought I'd see the day when you're stuck on the ground." Roy smirked as he stood back up.

"Shut up, Colonel Bastard." Ed grumbled before a spark lit up his eyes and he reached up his arm, "But since you offered…"

Roy stared down in shock, the smirk vanishing only to reappear as he turned around and crouched back down, "Jump on then. You can't weigh that much."

The stillness behind him that spoke of Ed's surprise was worth the sacrifice he would have to make if their chain of calling each other's bluffs kept going. He knew that Ed never backed down from a challenge but the feeling of the slender body wrapping itself over his back was still unexpected. The mismatched arms and legs gripped tightly around his waist and shoulders as he stood back up and used his own arms to hold Ed up.

"You sure this is ok?" the teen breathed gently in his ear.

Roy nodded as he moved the fake leg slightly so that it wasn't resting on a bruise, "Don't worry about it; it's about time you took weight off that leg anyways."

"Keep talking and maybe the false humility in your voice will turn real," Ed grumbled back as he leaned his head against Roy's. "Let me know when we get close."

Roy nodded as he kept his eyes trained on the ground to keep from tripping on the roots, the wounds on his body burning with the extra strain. The extra warmth the radiated off of his blond companion helped to stave off the chill from the coming winter and the deep, even breathing against his shoulder helped lull him into the numb corner of his mind. It was peaceful, a peace so powerful that not even the knowledge that they were being hunted could stop him from enjoying the wilderness around him.

His autopilot reverie was left unbroken until a few hours later when Ed stirred in wakefulness and yawned in his ear. There was a rustling behind him and he winced as a few more bruises were pressed mercilessly as his passenger moved around. Finally Ed just seemed to give up on getting comfortable and ordered to be put down which Roy did as politely as possible, just stopping short of dropping him on the ground.

"Fuck, Bastard. Be nice to the one that's carrying your kid will ya?" Ed grumbled around the hand that was pressing against his mouth, the other cradling his stomach.

"Need I remind you who it was that made it possible for said kid to even have a chance at being created?" Roy threw back.

"That would be Nate's great grandpappy or whatever. Along with your sperm's wonderful cooperation of course."

"It takes more than an array and sperm to create a child, Fullmetal."

"Shove it, General Retardo, and start moving." Ed growled as he started to limp off, leaving Roy to follow after him in exhaustion. The blond had never been one to be able to stand silence, unless he was reading, so it was no surprise when he started talking again,

"I've been wondering something for the past while now; how is the baby getting out? I got knocked up through the ass so does that mean I'm going to be shitting out babies, or how will this work?"

Roy had winced his way through the question and had taken on a queasy look by the end of it, "Have all teenagers become so bluntly disturbing or is it just you?"

"Hey! I call it as I see it. But answer the question; you have to have some idea about how this works if you were able to know enough to explain it to me in the hospital. How does this all work? Your best guess at it at least."

"From what I heard from the doctor," Roy sighed, "and Tom when he bothered to explain anything, is that your body developed a way to absorb the sperm and direct it towards the fallopian tubes sort of like the female body does. There is no opening for the actual birth, the array apparently didn't cover that, but it made the eggs more likely to attract sperm."

"So I'm not magically going to get a vagina to go along with my uterus, or have it attach to my a-"

"No. We're going to get Knox to perform a c-section and check if he can remove the uterus without an array."

"Nah uh. He's not chopping me up anymore then he has to. If some old geezer can make the array then I sure as hell can undo it. I'm not called a genius for no reason." Ed flashed a smile over his shoulder before going to watching for stumbling blocks.

"I think I'm smothering in the conceit." Roy muttered before stopping hard to avoid crashing into Ed who had suddenly decided to stand still with his head cocked to the side.

"You hear that?"

Roy stilled and listened hard for whatever had caught the teen's attention, only to smile in relief as he heard to sounds that only went along with civilization. After days of wondering they had finally come across a town in the middle of nowhere. They weren't safe, but they were one step closer to being so.

"I hear it. We can rest here until the town settles down so we'll be able to run after. You ok with that?"

"Yeah, I could use a nap and take a piss. Stay right there and I'll be back."

Roy watched him leave before sitting down to wait, his eyes closing slowly as the sleep he was so desperately lacking snuck up on him. Time seemed to stand still as he dozed off, its passage unremarkable and irrelevant until the gentle pressure of lips against his own pulled him from his doze. Ed was crouched before him with an expression that was as close to embarrassment as the teen would ever able to make, leaving Roy unable to raise his eyebrows in silent question.

"Just wanted to see what it would be like to kiss you without anyone here to force it." Ed muttered and started to shift away as Roy's mind digested the words.

Out here there was no need for physical contact between them, especially not kissing. The only times they had touched in the days following their escape had been purely platonic, and even that was on the down low. For Ed to freely initiate something like that was purely shocking.

Ed was already standing and turning away by the time that Roy managed to get his thoughts under control and grabbed for the replacement hand. The teen, already off balance and unprepared, toppled over onto Roy's lap in an undignified sprawl.

"Let's rest here for a bit more, it will be safer the more we wait." Roy said simply, ignoring the cursing that was coming from the one trapped in his arms.

Ed finally settled down after a few more half hearted attempts to get free and rested back against his chest with a tired sigh,

"Remind me not to wish for any more excitement in my life anymore. Go on and sleep, old man. I'll keep watch and wake you when it's time to move."

Roy didn't even bother to suppress his snort at the ribbing against his age, "Keep a look out for the _smallest_ detail, Fullmetal," he quipped back, and then winced as an elbow pressed down dangerously between his legs in warning.

"Have a good nap. Bastard."

True to his word Ed woke him up a few hours later in pitch black. The sounds that they had heard earlier were completely gone, now replaced by the rustling of leaves and the gentle calls of nocturnal animals. Moonlight filtered gently through the tree branches, illuminating the ground in front of them enough so that they could safely pick their way along.

"Go to the houses along the edge and only take what will be missed; don't take everything from one house." Ed instructed as they neared the town's border. Roy just smiled and nodded as he watched the golden eyes glance around cautiously as they reflected in the stray rays of light,

"'Kay, its good." Ed murmured then looked back and arched a brow, "Something you want, bastard?"

"No," Roy said simply as he took the time to glance around himself, "I'll start five houses down on the left and work my way around. Be prepared for a quick getaway."

"Just get your fumbling old ass out there and stop worrying about me."

"Ungrateful brat." Roy growled as he spun around and headed towards the first house he was going to break into. Ed might be use to snooping around in other people's houses, but Roy sure as hell wasn't and it took him the entire walk to figure out how he was supposed to get in.

All the stress and careful planning was for naught, however, and he easily pushed open the door without having to resort to anymore blood drawn arrays. It only made sense, he realized, with such a small town in a secluded area there was no reason for the civilians to feel threatened. They might not even _have _locks.

Snooping around, Roy grabbed a few cloth bags that had been thrown in the corner and tried not to sneeze from the dust as he tossed what he could into them. Water flasks were first and then food, followed by whatever medical supplied he could find. The family obviously enjoyed hunting so the water and dried food was no problem, but the medical supplies were at the bare minimum and fresh food was impossible to take without being noticeable.

The other houses made up for what the first one had lacked and he managed to fill up two of the bags; one for him and the other for Ed. Sadly not all doors had been open, or occupants as sound sleepers. The third one had held a dog that had started to stir when he passed by while in the seventh a child had nearly caught him when it came into the kitchen for a midnight snack.

He had forgotten what it was like; the high tension and fear of being caught while doing something that had been engrained since birth as bad. Things had been quiet since the show down between the homunculi and the people; quiet to the point where Roy had caught himself wishing that he could switch places with Ed and blow things up instead, paperwork be damned.

And yet here he was, sneaking from house to house in the dead of night to steal things so that he and his pregnant 'lover' could survive while getting away from a mad sadist.

"Stop daydreaming and start moving," Ed's voice suddenly growled from his side as one of the bags were stolen, "We need to be long gone before sunrise or shit's going to start hitting the fan."

"You would know all about situations like that, wouldn't you Fullmetal." Roy joked once he had composed himself.

"No shit. You find any chocolate?" Ed asked as he paused to dig through the bag, "Oh! Clothes! Food, water, bandages. A pen?"

Roy glanced over as the item was pulled out and stared at curiously, "Incase I have to draw some arrays in the future. You're one arm is completely useless now, isn't it?"

"Naw, I can still use it for alchemy but not much else," the blond explained as he stood straight again and headed for the road, "Well, let's get going."

"You know, we're going to be mighty obvious walking along here."

"Not as obvious as we would be if we were fighting through the ditch. People are going to get suspicious no matter where we walk and from what I can see, taking the forest isn't going to be overly dandy in the next few miles."

"And what exactly- never mind." Roy sighed as he pressed his free palm into his eyes, "Just lead us away from here and don't get us caught again."

"Yeah yeah. Did you grab any chocolate?"

"I thought you hated milk."

"I do, but you can't really taste it in chocolate and I'm going to have to find some way to have that nasty stuff."

"Good point. Sorry, Ed, I didn't think to grab any but I promise that when this is over I will buy you all the chocolate milk you want." Roy turned to smile at his companion but it froze as an unnamed emotion flashed through the beautiful gold eyes. The look was gone within seconds to be replaced by alarm that made him spin around in time to be blinded by headlights as a car came barreling towards them as it rounded the bend.

Roy's only thought was to protect the child and Ed as he darted forward and pulled the smaller body into his as he took them rolling into the ditch. Tired skidded on the gravel above their heads, a car door slamming seconds as the headlights lit up the world around them.

"You all right?" An anxious male voice asked above the sound of running feet.

Roy placed his body over Ed's and ignored the struggling teen beneath him as the fingers of his right hand curled comfortably around the lighter in his pocket.

The footsteps stopped as the man came into view and crouched down in front of them, "I'm so sorry! Usually there's no one walking this way at this time of night and- oh shit. You're them aren't you."

Roy tensed as he felt Ed do the same, his hand slowly creeping out of the pocket as he slowly sat up with both hands ready to raise, "Who are you?"

"I'll tell you in the car, just hurry up and get in. Dr. Jefferson has everyone out looking for you and there's no way I'll be able to sneak you past them if we don't hurry."

"Hold on there," Ed snapped suddenly as he shoved Roy aside, "How do we know you're not one of them?"

The man paused before standing up and heading back, "If you trusted Elizabeth Heckner then please try to trust me. Helping you out is the least I can do in honor of her memory."

Roy glanced over at Ed and found the teen doing the same, their eyes showing their wary agreement to trust this man. Tom was smart, and cruel enough, to think up using the Zombie Lady against them but there was something about this man that seemed genuine.

Ed got up first and Roy tactfully ignored the smirk that he got when he struggled to do the same. The man was already behind the wheel with the car in reverse as Roy slid into shotgun and Ed threw himself into the back seat.

"You promised an explanation." Roy said gently as the car was turned around to face the way it had come.

"I guess I should start with introductions, shouldn't I. My name is Gabriel Marks, ex-husband of Elizabeth Heckner, and the man partially responsible for this mess."

* * *

Caught

1 month, 3 weeks

Pregnant:

5 weeks


	8. Ownership

_"You promised an explanation." Roy said gently as the car was turned around to face the way it had come._

_"I guess I should start with introductions, shouldn't I. My name is Gabriel Marks, ex-husband of Elizabeth Heckner, and the man partially responsible for this mess."_

Roy stared warily at the man out of the corner of his eye, shoulders tense, while Ed just grunted from the back and made himself more comfortable. Nothing seemed to be able to phase the blond anymore, but then the boy had probably seen or heard it all anyways, and what he hadn't would not compare to what he had.

It was Ed's indifference to the situation that had Roy unwittingly relaxing as the car sped along the gravel road. Gabriel had both his hands on the steering wheel in an unthreatening manner while his eyes remained glued ahead.

"A few years ago," Gabriel began at last, "Elizabeth and I got married and around the same time I started working in the research facility in Central. Sometime in the first year the name Marks kept coming up, and while it made me curious, I never tried to figure out who it was. And it would have stayed like that if I had not uncovered some of the man's notes.

"They were heavily encrypted and the notebook had been shoved into a box that I would guess had been forgotten recycling. Even though I wasn't supposed to I wanted a challenge so I took the book home and set about decoding it. It was fascinating! The man had been a pure genius and I felt a need to find him, only he was long dead."

"So that is how you found Nate." Ed spoke up from the back, and Roy could almost see him inspecting his nails in the backseat.

"No, it wasn't that simple. There was no name to put to the notes so I kept them and learned what I could about alchemy without drawing attention to myself. Around the same time, Elizabeth had told me that she was pregnant and I … it's hard to describe what I felt when she first told me, but I wanted everyone to experience it. That had to be what Marks wanted when he started on his quest; to share that feeling."

"What changed?" Roy asked as the driver's words grew fainter with the reemergence of old regret.

"I finally found a name. One Doctor Timothy Marks, charged sixty three years ago for conducting illegal experiments on human beings. His notes were supposedly all burned along with his house but his actual lab was never found."

"And the 'experiments'?" Ed broke in once again, his voice harsh but his expression hidden in the darkness.

"That was why I started to fear what I had come across. You have no idea how badly I wanted to just burn the book and leave it at that, leave the past where it belonged, but by then I was already too deep and felt something drawing me on. There were a few names listed under the police report on the fire so I took a chance to go and talk to the families. One man actually found his mother; he and his friends had been playing in the back streets when they literally stumbled over her. He said she had been left there beside a garbage can, her mouth open as if she were screaming. The autopsy report showed that her internal organs were distorted while some looked like they had been melted.

"Other bodies had the same characteristics but they were mostly hookers, druggies and other types of people who would not be missed. She had been one of his first experiments, when he was still cocky, and the other family members that I talked to had a death in the family much later. They were nowhere near as distorted and the autopsy of the last death before his was almost normal. The array you found would have been his last one."

"What do you mean by near perfect?" Ed sat up now, "She died so something went wrong."

"Something did. The doctor had explained it as if her reproductive organs were trying to repair themselves but instead ended up killing itself off. It was if a second uterus had interfered with the first. The toxin from the dead tissue entered her bloodstream and her body just couldn't handle it.

"That was when Nathanial and Thomas showed up at my door, university friends I think they said, and they told me they were interested on what I had been researching in my pass time. Elizabeth told them before I could stop her; before I could tell her of the mangled bodies that had followed in the wake of Dr. Marks. They said they wanted his notes, that Nathaniel was his descendant and wanted to know more about his family's past.

"I burned that book, burned it the same night Elizabeth had a miscarriage. She was distraught and became even more so when she learned that her body would no longer be able carry anymore children. All she could think about where those stupid arrays and talked about how they would be able to fix everything. She begged me to work with the two men and remember what they looked like, but I couldn't, and she left.

"For two and a half years I tried to forget what had happened until a coworker mentioned a haunted building on the outskirts of the city and I just knew. The next week I took a trip there and only had to look once to know that I was right. My first option was to burn the place down, completely destroy what was supposed to be gone years ago, but at the same time I wanted all those women's deaths to be worth something."

"So you sent in a request for it to be checked out under the pretense of it being about the philosopher's stone while stirring up enough rumors for it to become a priority." Roy supplied as he turned his attention to the distant light of dawn

"That was what seemed to hype you alchemists up so I hoped it would reach one of you and you would be able to discover everything else." Gabriel turned his head briefly to glance at the teen in the back, "I'm sorry, Edward, I never meant for you to be dragged into the middle of all this."

Ed just shrugged before frowning and leaning forward, "How come no one noticed the array before and reported it?"

"They were just average people, Fullmetal. They probably just thought it was a design or some graffiti. Some probably even thought it was a cult symbol and left it alone." Roy answered quietly, "Farmers are responsible for the farming, potters with making pottery, and Alchemists with alchemy."

"Ignorance should not be an acceptable excuse." Ed argued back then pushed his bangs away from his face, "Gabriel, are you by chance taking us to a place where we can wash, eat and sleep for a bit?"

Gabriel nodded as he swerved to avoid a pothole, then again to keep the car from fishtailing, "I have friends in the next town who will keep you safe for a bit while I go out. Right now I'm on a quest to gain information on the sort of plant life they use around here for medicine. I wanted a chance to talk to Elizabeth, but-" He stopped and shook his head, "Why don't you two get some rest. We've got another couple of hours to go."

"Do you need to sleep? I took a nap earlier so I could take over." Roy offered their driver even as Ed was getting himself settled. Besides the fact that the man looked tired he had not given him a place to put his trust. Having a story did not mean that it was true and the circumstances of their meeting up were just too suspicious.

"I'll be fine until we get there," Gabriel said, "You need the sleep more than I do, and you're going to have to trust me if this is going to work out."

Roy glanced back in the side mirror and caught Ed's gaze as the blond was putting his head down. Their eyes locked for only a second but an understanding passed between them; they would trust him, just until they weren't so beat down.

Turning back, Roy nodded and leaned his chair back as much as he dared before closing his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. It was surprisingly easy to slip into a light sleep, one he had used often during the war.

The slowing of the car woke him fully a few hours later as the sun peaked over the hills in a brilliant collage of pinks, blues, purples and oranges. Rustic buildings rose up before them as the road continued on towards the small town that already had people bustling about. The place had an air of innocence to it, as if any word of conflict had passed it by and they were their own separate world.

Ed stirred behind him and he glanced in the side mirror just in time to see him sit up with a yawn and push his bangs back with his flesh hand. The rest of the blond strands were fighting desperately to defy gravity now that there was no hair tie to keep it in order; and with the sleepy look in his eyes he looked as if he had been ravished.

"My friends live a few houses in so I'll go with you to introduce you then I'll be off for the day," Gabriel broke in before Roy could dwell on that though, "We're going to have to stay here for a few days or people might get suspicious. And you two need to rest, especially you Edward."

Ed just huffed as they pulled to a stop in front of a two story log house with a garden that took up more space then the building did. Roy looked around him curiously for any neighbors as Gabriel got out of the car and motioned for them to wait before heading towards the front door.

"We're going to be pretty noticeable in these clothes." Ed commented dryly as the wooden door was opened by a plump woman with a bright smile.

"There should be a light jacket in the bag you took from me that won't seem too out of place, and I have a sweater in this one that I can slip on." Roy absently replied as he began looking for the garment.

He could hear Ed doing the same behind him, and then the rustle of fabric as something was shaken out before being put on around the same time as he was unbuckling to pull the sweater on. Ed was silent behind him as he made himself semi presentable, for one being neither modest nor demanding of attention. It was even more distracting then the usual tantrums.

"Are we sticking around?" Ed asked suddenly as Roy watched him glance outside before meeting his gaze in the side mirror.

"For two days, then we'll leave with or without him," he replied while straightening up as Gabriel turned around and motioned for them to join him.

"I'd say give it three," Ed advised while giving him a smug grin, "There's only one reason a town like this wouldn't have people everywhere to trip over, and that is a party. Maybe if you actually got out once in a while you'd know that towns like this celebrate the seasons."

"Excuse me for covering your ass all these years." Roy growled back as he grabbed his stuff and threw open his door, then turned and surprised his lover by opening the other car door for him.

Ed eyed him suspiciously as he got out, the bag clutched in his fist as he awkwardly swung the wooden leg out. Roy just gave him a small smile while grabbing the bag from him to hold the two in one hand then waited for him to get up before looping an arm around his waist. In return for his kindness Roy found himself supporting the teen's full weight as they moved slowly over the lawn and toward Gabriel who was watching them silently from the doorway.

Their host smiled at them from the inside of the house, wiping her hands excitedly on her apron as if she were well past delighted to have guests. Even her eyes were all smiles as she took in their beaten down appearance and before they had stepped into the house she was scolding the researcher about the treatment of his companions.

Gabriel didn't seem to be taking it to heart as he smiled down at her as he listened to her rant, glancing at them only once to motion for them to follow and to take the bags from Roy who gave them up gratefully. All the while the pleasant buzz of the woman's voice washed over them as she led them deeper into the house, towards what Roy presumed was the kitchen from the smile.

"Gabriel, how come you haven't introduced us yet? Good riddance, it's just like you to forget the details like that. You two can call me Annie, though most people have taken to calling me Aunt Annie so you can decide which fits best. I was just telling irresponsible young man that you just arrived in time for lunch. Everyone else is busy setting up for Coming Winter Festival so you won't be disturbed for a while, which will give you both time to wash and sleep some. You both just look worn to the bone, poor dears."

Roy had listened to the rant just as quietly as Gabriel, ignoring Ed's pointed look as she mentioned the festival, and smiled when she a second to glance back at the two of them. Something passed through her eyes at that moment and both he and Ed tensed up but it passed quickly and soon she was talking about the festival and sleeping arrangements at the same time as making then sit down and putting two large bowls of stew in front of them.

"So what are your names, dears?" Annie finally remembered the question that was customarily asked at first meetings.

Ed looked up at her with his cheeks stuffed with food and his eyes sparkling as he chewed as fast as humanely possible. Roy watched them with amusement as he ate at a much slower pace, enjoying the taste of well prepared food for the first time since the escape; and the life that had flowed back into Fullmetal.

"I'm Ed and that's Roy," the teen said the moment he had swallowed, "We're just passing by so thanks for allowing us to stay for a bit. This stew is amazing by the way; I haven't had anything like it for a long time"

"Of course! Any friend of Gabriel is a friend of mine. Do you want seconds? It's so lovely to have young people around the house again. My children have all grown up, two boy and a girl, and my goodness where they rascals. Had the same air about them as you do, and ate about the same amount too. They're moved out now and starting their own families, but I can't help but missing them, so you don't feel bad about asking for anything. I might have some old clothes that might fit you two if you would be willing to try them on."

Roy watched as Ed scraped the last bit of stew from the bottom of the bowl and close his eyes in a moment of bliss,

"No thanks, Aunt Annie, maybe after I cleaned up. Wouldn't want to get sick and waste such a delicious meal."

Annie laughed and walked over to put her hand on Ed's shoulder, "In that case I'll show you to the bathroom. Gabriel, can you take care of Roy for a bit?"

Gabriel started to nod but stopped when Roy stood up and moved to Ed's left side, ignoring the poisoned glare that he was getting from the expressive golden eyes. Trailing his fingers down the knotted strands, he let his fingers linger then dropped his hand and looked at Annie,

"He has a bit of trouble walking so I'll help get him settled."

The look passed through her eyes again but she immediately smiled and nodded, "Of course. Just follow me this way. It's really not that hard to find but I better get you set up with towels and the like before you jump in. You can use the bathroom on the second floor, first door on your left, and the bedroom will be the room beside it. There is only one guest room with a double bed, or you can take Ted's old room; Gabriel will be sleeping in the room furthest down the hall to the right, in Anthony's old room, and mine is back downstairs. You can find clothes in either Ted or Anthony's rooms but I'll go grab you something to sleep in while you get ready."

She left them outside of the bathroom door, Ed leaning as heavily on Roy as he could in punishment. Roy ignored it as he dragged him into the room and sat him down on the edge of the tub to turn the taps. The door clicked shut behind him, helped by Ed, and at that moment a chill went down his spine. Glancing over through his eyelashes, he saw Ed giving him a glare that was even more deadly than the one in the kitchen.

"I'm not someone you have to fucking protect, Mustang." Ed growled as he tore viciously at the zipper on his jacket, "I don't need you to hover over me like a mother hen. Wasn't it you who decided that I was old enough at the age of twelve to take on things that even you 'grown ups' couldn't?"

Roy felt his jaw clench as the old wound was unwittingly opened in the span of three sentences,

"Then maybe you should stop acting like you need someone to hover over you! And, it was never me who decided that, Edward; it was the forces of supply and demand. You have no idea how hard I tried to keep you away from the worst of it."

"Well that worked out well," Ed spat out, "Besides, have you forgotten that this isn't exactly boss/employee stuff anymore? You don't have to 'look out for me'; right now I'm not under your command."

"I don't have to protect you?" Roy hissed as he felt something snap inside of him, "You're right, we aren't in a typical work situation, but that does not mean that I'm going to suddenly stop watching over you like I have since I first saw you. Nor am I going to allow the barer of my child go off and get himself in trouble because he thought he could handle things even while being hindered by a wooden arm and leg!"

"Oh? And you can do better? You're practically just as useless! Where's your lighter, huh bastard? What if someone jumps through the window right now and tries to kill us, could you protect us any better than I could?"

Roy's hands slammed down on either side of Ed and crowded in close so that their noses almost brushed, "If you have a problem with my trying to protect someone I love then fine. But I will not let you end up like Maes or hurt like Riza. I can't lose you."

He never saw Ed's stunned expression, nor the belated outstretched hand, as he spun away in search for fresh air. There was no logical explanation for his anger; it was just there, devouring his reason as he swept through the kitchen and through the back door to the porch where he stood gripping the rail in white knuckle hands.

Annie found him there half an hour later, his head bent and shoulders hunched against the cold just as much as against his thoughts.

"Ed has finished up and is busy changing if you want to go take a turn at the bath."

Roy nodded and turned to go in but stopped at the fleeting touch of her hand against his arm, her expression grave when he looked at her.

"Treat that boy well, you hear? I can tell both of you are going through a hard time but he needs you just as much as you need him."

"Thank you," he said softly, still watching her while trying not to be obvious about his suspicion, only to fail.

"I was actually going to warn you about the people up in these parts," she supplied, "Most are traditionalists or just don't like the idea of two of the same gender together; nosy old farts I call them. Now you just go and get all washed up and talk civilly with him."

"Yes ma'am." Roy said respectfully and reached out to place a light kiss on the back of her hand, the action rewarding him with a playful swat and delighted chatter of the forwardness of youth.

The silence that met him at the top of the stairs was deafening with neither of the other two inhabitants in sight. Flicking on the bathroom light he closed to door behind him and turned the taps so water could fill the tub as he stripped, his muscles protesting from the abuse of the past week. He welcomed it, just as he welcomed the burning hot water that scorched his skin as he stepped into it, the pain a reminder of his survival. It would fade eventually; it always did, just as the heat from the water was fading. Soon his being alive would be testament enough, but for now the extra feeling was welcome no matter if it was pain or something else just as strong.

He took his time getting clean, his fingers gently tracing down over his ribs until they met the scar that mottled his side. Even now he could sometimes feel the phantom pain, and there were times when it was still fresh enough that he would wince while watching a log burn. Havoc had been able to walk again thanks to Mei's help, but his own injury had remained; a blotch that marred his side. Roy's fingers traveled lower, sliding over his hip bone and down his leg until his body was bent forward enough to grab the soap from the corner.

It smelled of sandalwood, the scent tickling his senses as it filled the small room, and the foam standing out stark against his skin. His hair was taking its time to grow back but he still took his time on it, gently massaging his scalp with a dab of mint scented shampoo. It was an odd combination, one that made him believe that the upstairs was now only for the odd guest.

Draining the frigid water, he waited until it was all gone before rinsing off and stepping out of the bath. A towel had been left on the rack which he grabbed and used to dry off before wrapping it around his waist and gathering his stuff into his arms.

The hallway was just as quiet as before when he stepped out and the room was void of any inhabitants when he entered. Both bags were in the corner but the bed was unused and a pair of pajama pants were thrown over it. They were ignored as he dumped his clothing into a pile on the floor beside the desk and slumped down into the chair. He wasn't sure why he felt slightly hurt, Fullmetal was always off somewhere else where he wasn't, and that was usually his own fault.

His hand moved to cover his eyes as fatigue tried to tempt him into crawling on the bed and falling asleep, but he resisted and slowly dozed off to the sound of the clock in the hallway. Warmth seeped into him as something brushed against his calf, slipping under the towel as it made its way up. Roy opened his eyes slowly, his internal clock telling him he had dozed for less than ten minutes, only to freeze as he looked down into Ed's gaze.

The teen's gold irises gleamed up at mischievously through the blond strands that fell over his face, but not managing to hide the smirk that Roy had seen in the mirror far too many times. The teen was shirtless but pajama pants there were too big for him, Roy took a second to wonder at how they managed to stay up, where slung low around his hips.

"People need to stop running off after confessing." Ed murmured as he brushed his cheek against the inside of Roy's knee while his hand kept traveling up to pull at the towel. It fell open before Roy could think to catch it so he left in alone in favor of keeping his gaze locked with the other and uncrossing his arms to let them fall to his side. Ed had tensed at the movement but calmed when he realized that Roy was not going to push him away and grazed his teeth against the drawn flesh.

"You're not going to lose me, Roy." Ed continued and used the flat of his tongue to go over what he had bitten, all the while never breaking his gaze. Roy opened his mouth to respond but stopped when the golden eyes grew hard in warning.

"Have I not proven over the years how hard it is to kill me? How I'll pick myself up no matter what happens? You know why that is, Roy?" Each sentence had Ed crawling further up his leg with small kisses and nips as the fingers traced up opposite to the scar on his side, "It's because of you. Even Al could not get me motivated to do anything at the beginning."

Roy ignored the thrum of arousal that coursed through his body; ignoring its physical reaction as he watched the fire that was in the gaze before him. It felt like he was burning, burning in a flame of his own making. All those years ago when he had first hunted down the Elric brothers, he had had no idea the consequences that would come of it. For all the brilliance he had in planning he had never once considered that the sparks he had lit in the broken child would spring to life in such overwhelming brilliance.

"Nuh uh, Mustang." Ed growled in irritation as he settled himself deeper between Roy's legs while his arm drew tight around Roy's back. "I want your focus here."

"Big demands for such a little per-" he cut himself off as he watched a faint blush of anger light up Ed's face, making force back a smirk that willingly vanished with the harsh scraping of nails across his lower back.

"Don't you dare, bastard. Tonight is mine to teach you that I'm not going to break."

"And how will you do that?" Roy challenged even though he could tell what Ed had planned; or, what his body wished Ed had planned.

"I'll show you." Ed replied simply, grazing his teeth against the edge of the scar. Roy hissed as the tender flesh was assaulted, sending tingles throughout his body as the nerves shuddered to life.

"Al told me about this. How it was the first time he had seen you so cold, and yet you were still in control of yourself. Not like with Envy. I know how mindless you can get, and now I want to bring it out again; but in a different form."

Roy groaned as the mouth left his side and continued up his body, the hand moving once again to rest on his upper thigh and massage the muscle,

"I can't. I'm not going to risk hurting you."

The sharp teeth bit mercilessly against his ribs as the lithe body dragged itself up against his as Ed made his way to his throat.

"You won't hurt me, but you will have to trust me," the teen whispered against the skin the covered his clavicle. "Lose yourself in me."

Roy tried to shake his head, to stop the voice that urged him to give in, but stopped at the low growl and the feel of teeth pressing against his jugular. Havoc had been wrong about all of his supposed lovers from over the years, the names and numbers in his book just code words for his research, but of the few that had existed; none had made Roy give himself up. Some had asked, had even tried, but all had failed to drive him to the primitive state that Ed wanted him to go.

He felt the puff of warm breath against his neck and felt the other pull away and look at him. Roy looked back, expecting to see defeat, only to find himself looking back at determination. He should have known that Ed would not give up that easily, and found himself nodding.

"I'll do it."

Ed's face split into a large grin as he pushed himself back up and pressed their lips together in a kiss that quickly turned hard and demanding as the two fought for dominance. It was a heady rush for both of them as Ed pushed closer at the same time that Roy pulled him towards him. The Flame's hands traced over the body that was before him, for the first time lingering over the numerous scars that marred its perfection. Ed purred into the kiss even as he pressed their mouths together with bruising force.

Neither gave in as their bodies heated and strained against each other and hands roamed to map out what would be theirs. It was all about this moment, to give up control of themselves while fighting to gain dominance over the other. Roy growled from the back of his throat when Ed pulled away, his body instantly trying to follow only to find that it couldn't.

Ed locked their gazes together once more and took on the expression he had had when this had all begun; the glint of superiority bright within his eyes. It made Roy want to push him down but the flick of a tongue against his arousal had him sitting back in the chair. He could feel Ed's amusement as the clever mouth started to tease him, the heat of lips and tongue torturing him with promises of what he could have if he trusted.

His fingers wove through the blond strands that were loose and still damp, offering support but never pushing Ed to do more than the teen was already doing. It was painfully obvious that he had never done this before, but confidence and Roy's own lessons soon took over. They had discovered together what felt good, and Ed used it to his advantage as he drew his tongue along the vein on the underside of Roy's shaft.

Roy kept his eyes trained on Ed's, sliding them to half mast in pleasure as the heat moved to encircle him and draw him in. There was no stopping the sounds he made in response to what Fullmetal was doing, so he didn't try, instead used them to encourage the blond. Ed seemed to enjoy it, his eyes glazing over slightly as he hummed while taking Roy in deeper.

The vibrations had his fingers curling into the long strands, unconsciously pulling on the scalp even as his hips fought to move. It became harder for him as the wondering fingers made their way over his body to curl around the base of his erection and squeeze.

"Fuck, Ed, I want you." He growled, the tone getting deeper as his lover chuckled and deep throated him on the first try even as the fingers tightened into a painful grip.

Roy bit down on the side of his tongue to keep from being any louder than he was, or to keep himself from snarling at Ed to let him go. Anymore and there was no way that he would be able to prepare the teen so that he would not hurt him.

Ed had other plans as drove Roy deeper into desire, cursing his lack of a right hand now more than ever. Warily he removed his hand and reached into the pants pocket for the lotion that Annie had given him to put on the skin that had been rubbed raw from the wood. Roy caught on to the movement and tried to tell Ed to stop so he could help but a firm suck silenced him as Ed undid the lid that was already loose.

The container slid from Ed's leg onto the floor as he scooped a generous amount onto his fingers and reached under his pants to press against his entrance. It felt odd to do this himself but the heated look in the ebony gaze urged him on as he pressed into his body. His wrist strained against the angle but he ignored it, loosening the inner walls even as he continued to torture Roy with his lips.

The older alchemist could fell his body fighting for release, the physical and visual stimulation pushing down on him as his control strained and cracked under his weight. The moment Ed pulled away, his right hand cupped the back of his head while the other went lower to guide the teen up to meet his lips. The taste of himself had never been something he enjoyed, but now it was a mark of ownership that meant more to him than even a ring.

Ed withdrew his hand, hooked the jar on a finger, and used the rest to push down his pants before straddling Roy's legs, pushing them together so that they were trapped beneath him. Roy's hand had come to rest on his hip but dropped lower between them and Ed could feel it adjust the man's erection so that he could lower himself. Pressing the jar against Roy's thigh, he scooped out what he could from the rest of the jar and bumped Roy's hand away with a soft growl so that he could apply it to the man's burning flesh.

Roy hissed as the cold paste covered him but he moved his hand away willingly to urge the other body closer and only waited long enough for Ed to move his hand before slamming up into the tight heat. Ed groaned and wrapped his arm around Roy's shoulders as his hips were lifted then jerked down to thrust against the other man's.

His breath caught in his throat as his body moved with the brutal pace and he buried his head against Roy's neck, leaving marks that he knew would not fade for a few weeks. Even as Roy moved them off the chair it never registered until his back was pressed down against the floor with the Flame was hovering over him. His legs hitched up to wrap as best they could around Roy's hips, but decided on a change of tactics when the wood refused to cooperate. Changing the angle of his hips, he flipped them over so that he was sitting astride Roy once more but this time with the other laying beneath him.

Placing his hands against the scarred stomach, he used it to keep his balance as he impaled himself on Roy who gripped his hips with bruising force. His body actively searched for what his mind could not remember until the angle of his body changed and sparks shot through his body. Their breaths came in pants as they strained against each other, keeping each other locked in a gaze until Ed's head was thrown back in his release and Roy's closed as his body arched upwards.

Ed collapsed onto the sweat soaked chest beneath him where he started chuckling, which turned into soft laughter,

"I think we still have some work to do to get you loosened up, but that was a start."

Roy groaned even as he reached up to stroke Ed's back, "A start? I don't feel like moving for a week."

"We need a shower, ya old fart." Ed grinned back as he sat up, and winked, "I'm in my prime years here, so you better be able to keep up. Now get up, I want to wash off and I will not sleep in the same bed as you covered in sweat and whatnot ever again."

Roy groaned once more but got up and got up to grab his towel even as Ed pulled on his pants and headed out. It wasn't until he was at the door watching Ed disappear into the washroom that he paused and glanced down at his hands in remembrance.

Ed's body had started to soften.


	9. ShortLived Recovery

Ed hunched over the toilet bowl as dry heaves shook his body, one hand bracing himself against the floor while the wooden one was set protectively against his stomach. Sleep had loosened his ponytail and the majority was now spilling over his shoulders, getting dangerously close to the fouled water in its unrestrained state. Dark rings encircled his eyes, giving them a sunken appearance that matched well with his frazzled look, which seemed to get even worse when he uncurled in the minute of respite that he was granted.

Another dry heave had him returning to his hunched over position as he reached up blindly to find the handle to flush down the evidence of his most recent bout of morning sickness. The week of rest had been an absolute fail for him, and a chance for the side effects of having another person growing in ones stomach to catch up to him.

After a few seconds of blind fumbling, alien fingers found his own and guided them forward while an equally comforting hand rubbed his back as his body settled back into a prone state of misery.

"How much more of this?" Ed choked out as he tried to mentally calm his stomach.

"I don't know," Roy said honestly as he brushed the hair away from Ed's face and put it back into its normal ponytail. "Did Elizabeth tell you anything?"

"In theory it should be twelve to fourteen weeks but it really all depends on the person." He recited as his stomach slowly calmed enough that he could lean back against Roy. A glass of water appeared beside him before he could get comfortable and he gladly took it to rinse out his mouth. Roy helped him lean forward again as he spat out the water then the glass was taken away as he finally made himself comfortable. The hands were back, this time rubbing against his stomach in soothing circles.

"Then you're half way done," Roy deadpanned and Ed groaned miserably.

"Well that's just fucking swell. How are we supposed to be on the run if I'm stuck in the bathroom?"

Ed could feel the body behind him tense as Roy frowned and spoke, "I didn't want to bring it up with you feel so down, but I think we better get going."

"You thinking the same thing I am?" Ed asked.

"Tom is giving us some down time so that you don't get overly stressed right now, but he doesn't have much patience so I think our time is almost up."

"Poor Gabriel probably doesn't know that he was being used."

"You think he wasn't in it with Nate?"

"Naw, he seems to genuinely dislike Tom and Nate; but I do think that his showing up at the town that we just so happened to be passing through was not a coincidence."

Roy grunted in agreement and Ed tilted his head back to look up at him to ask, "Have you managed to find a map?"

"I did, and it seems that we got a little turned around in the forest so we're heading more east then west. A couple more weeks walking and we'll hit Reole, there we'll contact Knox and get him to meet us at a different town."

"A couple of weeks? I don't think my leg will be able to take that, and too much scar tissue will have Winry throwing much more than wrenches when I go about getting my getting automail again. Why don't we ask Gabriel if he knows anyone that would let us borrow a car."

"You need a car, dears? I just so happen to know someone who is selling theirs. Not many people around here to buy it though, so you might be able to get a deal. Nice little car it is, but rather old; why, he got that thing a few days after my first child was born! I never did figure out why, he only drove it a few times, but he kept it in good shape." Annie rambled as she walked into the small bathroom with a teacup, not even glancing at Ed's wooden arm.

"Now this here is ginger tea and should help with the nausea. It's a God send, believe me. I drank it the whole time I was pregnant with Anthony and it calmed my morning sickness right down! It works for normal problems too though," she went on as Ed felt his face pale, "I've never seen someone sick like this, unless you count myself when I was having Ted, but don't worry, if it's only a stomach problem then it shouldn't last more than a week or two, where as Ted and Anthony had me feeling sick for nearly nine months! The doctor told me I was one of the unlucky ones when it came to the symptoms, but it was worth it."

Ed reached up and took the cup from her before bringing it to his lips and blowing on the steaming liquid. It was a pretty color, and smelled just as good, but the taste had him grimacing. There were worse tastes out there but the honey clashed with the ginger and lemon, while also successfully making his throat feel slimy.

"Thank you," Roy cut in gently, "But we don't have any money at the moment-"

"Oh! No problem, I'm sure Gabriel can take care of it until you can pay him back. Heavens knows how much we owe him. Or I could buy it for you; with my husband and sons gone there isn't much for me to spend my money on so I might as well spoil my lovely guests. It will be sad to see you go, so you two should come back and visit when you get the chance."

Ed glanced up at Roy again, both not sure how to act toward the kindness of their host. She must have seen the look because she started laughing,

"You two are just the cutest! Why, I remember when my husband and I first got married-"

Ed tuned her out as he tried to think, leaving Roy to listen to the constant chatter. It was not in his nature to accept help from others, but he knew that in a choice between walking on a wooden leg for a month through a forest, or throwing away his pride to get a car, he would pick the car.

Then there was the problem of the road being the easiest place to get caught; so what about the train? A car would be expected of them, but a train with hundreds of other people would be one of the last places they would look. It was still risky, and Nate was not stupid, but a guard could be easily taken out in the limited space. Unless he got sick and started throwing up, at which point they would have to rely on Roy's long range, and flashy, alchemy.

"We would gladly pay you back if you are able to wait a few months," he interrupted before smiling apologetically at Annie, "Sorry, I'm just a bit tired; didn't mean to interrupt."

"No worries, dear! Anyone would be tired after all that traveling and then getting sick. How about you go get some more sleep while Roy and I take care of things. Gabriel went out to go talk to some of the other folk, so he won't be around for a bit, so just go take a nap and we'll wake you up when it is time for lunch. But if you get hungry before then there are leftovers in the fridge that you can help yourself to. Just don't eat too much or you won't be hungry later on."

Ed smiled gratefully and nodded as he took another sip, then watched the satisfied woman turn and leave, all the while prattling on about getting ready to head off. Roy hadn't made any movement to get up even after being told to be ready within ten minutes, and Ed grinned secretly at how whipped the man was becoming. It wasn't conscience on either of their parts, he reasoned, but somewhere along the way they had come to rely on each other and predicting the other's needs.

Setting the mug down, he reached up and brushed his fingers along his partners jaw and met Roy's lips with his own when the man looked down at him in curiosity. It was a leisurely kiss, a distraction if nothing else, that lasted until Roy pulled back with a disgusted look,

"Did you really just kiss me after puking up your guts into the toilet?"

Ed laughed and placed a single kiss on Roy's neck before getting up and standing over him with his hands on his hips, "I thought it only fair. At least you only had to taste the tea and not actual stomach contents, Bastard."

Roy looked as if he were about to say something but stopped himself, all the while staring up at the blond who was just staring back and trying to not show his confusion. The Flame never obviously stopped saying something unless it was controversial to what he wanted.

With that in mind, Ed watched the seated figure carefully, but did not move when its hands reached out to settle on his hips and pulled him forward. Being in a submissive position was not something Roy did often, and Ed couldn't keep the smirk off his face as Roy shifted onto his knees and pressed his nose against his stomach.

"Step back." Roy breathed against his hip, applying slight pressure with his hands to steer.

Ed moved pliantly and stepped away from the toilet until he could grasp the counter, then stopped to rest his weight against it. Roy seemed satisfied by this and the hands vanished for a moment as the man turned and reached over to lock the door, the soft click sounding louder than it was as the two gazed at each other.

"What's the occasion?" Ed couldn't help but ask as Roy moved back to settle in front of him, the larger hands running gently over his cotton covered thighs.

"Does there need to be a reason?"

"No, not really. At least, not for anyone else."

"Then shut up, midget, and stop always trying to ruin the mood." Roy growled before pausing to take a deep breath against bottom of Ed's hip.

The teen didn't bother to hide the reaction that the simple action caused, and he felt the man smirk against his thigh as the hands moved up the back of his legs. It wasn't the first time they had done this, but it was the first time that Roy had gotten to his knees with no thought but to give, and Ed was in full appreciation. The feeling of the cotton sliding down his body under the guidance of rough hands had his body shivering in anticipation even before the warm breath surrounded his hardened length.

His grip firmed on the edge of the counter as Roy took the first slow lick, tracing the head lovingly as those fingers moved from his left thigh to stroke the underside of his cock. Ed shuddered, taking in a shaky breath as he watched Roy through half mast eyes, losing himself in the sensations the Flame was giving.

Hands traced over his body, leaving trails of heat that stayed burning under his skin. They teased him, running down his legs then back up to cup him. Ed tilted his head back but kept his eyes on Roy as the man ran his tongue along the sides of his shaft and blew lightly against the damp skin. The fingers kept moving, now moving to trace along the back of his scrotum as the lips continued to coax him into full hardness. Ed willingly let his body be taken over by his partner, for once allowing himself to be the one that takes instead of gives.

The heat that surrounded him as Roy took him into his mouth had Ed gasping even as his teeth snapped together in surprise. The vibrations against his sensitive flesh told him of Roy's laughter, but he ignored it as his fingers unclenched from the counter and wove into the short black locks. Roy gave a hum of enjoyment as his right hand wrapped around the base of Ed's shaft, the other still teasing between the teen's legs, and his tongue teasing the throbbing vein.

Their eyes locked again and a bolt of arousal shot through Ed as he saw the lust that was reflected in the ebony gaze. A groan escaped him again, this time accompanied by a deep suck while Roy help him pinned within his sight. The Flame used both his hands and mouth in sync, setting a rhythm that was neither fast nor slow, but had Ed reigning himself in so that he didn't thrust into Roy's mouth.

Roy seemed to understand but instead of moving his hands to keep the hips still, he ignored it and took Ed deeper. Ed hissed as his gaze darkened but forced himself to hold still even as his body begged to go even deeper than what had been granted. The tongue continued to tease him even as the heat in his lower stomach grew, his body tightening as it fought against the upcoming release.

Ed knew instantly that Roy was already aware, and fought back a growl as the man slowed down as if to enjoy the last few seconds. It was that last thought, that Roy enjoyed pleasuring him, and one last well timed twist then suck that sent the blond over the edge. His fingers tightened in the black strands as Roy helped him ride through the finish while swallowing.

The room was silent aside from Ed's pants and Roy's gentle breathing until they heard Annie calling Roy from downstairs, telling them that it was time to hit the road.

"You better get going," Ed warned, then yawned and stretched, "You're not even dressed."

"That's nice, especially coming from someone with their pants around their ankles." Roy said snidely before smirking.

Ed squawked indignantly but made no move to pull the pajama pants back on; instead, he watched as Roy lifted the fabric back over his legs until they rested back on his hips. The other man stood, not even bothering to hide his arousal that showed clearly under his own pajama pants. Ed tried not to snicker and started to ask if Roy wanted help with that, but all he got was dark look that promised that he would get a chance to repay him later tonight. Ed shivered and ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips, his own eyes darkening as they watched his lover leave.

So much had happened in the past few months; so many things had changed. Before this he would have never dreamed of getting a blow job from the Bastard, of enjoying it, and wanting more. Actually, if someone had said that it would happen he would probably drag that person to the loony bin himself. But, he reasoned, it made sense. Roy was the only one that had cared for him, had challenged him, the only one that accepted him for all that he was and understood why. Even Winry didn't come close; she never understood why he kept putting himself into dangerous situations. She could never match his passion for life and the unknown.

But Roy did. Even though he protected them, he still let them learn their own lessons. He understood him, and matched his passion. They were similar, one using his inner fire as a shield, the other using it as a weapon.

And Roy was hot, Ed thought with a hint of smug pride, and then stopped dead as he went over what he had been thinking.

It must be the hormones, he decided as he placed his hand over his stomach. There was no love between the two, not really; it was more of a protective instinct. He knew that Roy's 'confession' all those night ago had been his way of saying that he meant a lot to him, that their bond was deeper than friendship, but it wasn't love.

Ed rubbed the back of his head with his wooden hand and shrugged, walking through the open door and heading towards his room. Roy was just stepping out, now dressed to go out with a hat pulled low over his eyes, and they paused just as their shoulders brushed in passing.

"Try to work out an array that would have the same effects as the one in the warehouse of you can't sleep. I'll try to do the same." Roy whispered then headed downstairs.

Ed sighed before shouting a goodbye to Annie as she yelled up to him to be good and get some rest. This was going to be more complicated than anything he had tried before; there was no research material and he had to get it right if it was to be reversed. But how would they know if it was correct if they did not test it?

He shuddered as he closed the door behind him, thinking of what Gabriel had told them in the car. There was no need to imagine what the mangled corpses of the failed experiments had looked like, not when he had seen so many before. He had even seen some while they were still alive.

The bed looked welcoming; the sheets lying in a rumpled pile on top, but Ed could only feel aversion to it as his brain slowly warmed up and took over. Symbols danced through his thoughts and his hand twitched in longing for a pencil and paper, the feeling which he suppressed until he switched pajama pants for boxers and baggy pants. A shirt was quickly pulled on before he finally gave up and went downstairs to find paper and a pen, which were both on the table from when Annie and Gabriel had made their lists for the day.

The papers were spread out in front of him haphazardly as he settled down into the wooden chair, ignoring all noise and discomfort as he gnawed on the pen. There were so many possibilities but nothing that he thought of would work. It shouldn't work.

Ed stopped and stared down at the blank page in front of him. For the first time he was struck with the absurdity of it all; before he had just accepted it because no one else had freaked out, not even while he was in the hospital. But now, all by himself in a foreign kitchen, he started to realize the extent of what had been done to him in just over two months.

His mind swarmed while his grip tightened around the pen as he fought to calm himself down.

"One thing at a time." He muttered, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out. His heart calmed, along with his thoughts, as he started sketching out the few symbols he was sure would be in there, not realizing until he stood up to fetch more paper that the symbols were mainly ones he had used for human transmutation.

It wasn't that, however, that made him stop and stare at the symbols, but the epiphany that rushed through his entire body. It wasn't about creating another human being, or even an organ, but about repairing it. Only, Timothy Marks had misunderstood the alchemy and had only the alchemy he could get from books or had seen for healing. The man was a doctor first, an alchemist second; but the only real healing alchemy was from Xing, which Marks would not know.

Ed growled as he sorted through the papers, tossing the sheets that he was certain he would not need over his shoulder and ignoring them when they fluttered to a landing right beside him. It was the first array that would be the most important; it would be the one that would lead Ed into the dead man's mind. Marks was supposed to have been a genius, or so Gabriel said, but he was a genius too.

The blond stood and stalked around the house, searching for more paper while muttering under his breath and completely disregarding the world around him. The material was finally found under a desk in what appeared to be a study and Ed grabbed a stack before heading back to the kitchen.

It would have been simple at first, something that described an end and not a means. But the man would have to have researched, and if he were as smart as Gabriel said then the man would have been thorough.

"Fuck," Ed muttered as he pushed his bangs back, the pencil lying on the paper dejectedly as if sensing its user's frustration. The man was a god damn paradox; a doctor and an alchemist, knowledgeable but a beginner. And now Ed was trying to get into his head and create an array that he had no knowledge about.

Okay, that was a lie, but still!

"Something wrong?" Gabriel's voice asked from behind, and Ed spun around to look at him with his hands ready to clap. Gabriel just looked even more confused since the wooden hand had remained where it was.

"Everything is fine. I'm just trying to figure out that fucking array that got me here."

"Ah," Gabriel replied as he set down his things and walked over, picking up one of the sketches, "You know, I think I remember this from the journal."

Ed immediately sat up, his eyes growing wide as he took the paper back,

"Is that the only one?"

"Nope. I think those two over there look familiar. And the one under the drawing that looks like a wonky fish."

"It's not a fish." Ed muttered as he reached over to grab the paper beneath, "Do you remember if it was drawn as notes or in an actual array?"

"These are the ones I saw the most of so they were probably part of it, but it's been a while since I last read the journals so I'm not entirely sure. I do know this one though; it was the center of his work. Everything seemed based around it."

Ed looked over to see which symbol it was, then took it with a shrug of indifference,

"This is what most healing arrays look like, so it would make sense… wait. Did you say it was central?"

"Yeah, I noticed because I always wondered why he would have an array within an array, but I never really paid attention to what is going on in the alchemy world."

Ed was giving him only half of his attention as he stared down at the simple array. The doctor really had been a genius, or a complete idiot, but either way it was impressive. It kind of made sense, why not put an array within an array?

'Because it would be imbalanced,' a voice whispered.

'But if the two arrays would be able to work together as a whole array? Was it possible?'

'If it wasn't then none of this would have worked.'

'So that's probably why it backfired all the time. It was trying to fix the organ, the power surged to the point of trying to create a new organ, then short circuited and the new cells ended up dying.'

'So he was trying to replace the cells and ended up with a whole new organ because of the arrays. He must have figured out what was wrong and tried to fix it, but only ended up changing it so that the arrays would create the reproductive organs. His last array was his worst for what he wanted,' the voice decided, then added smugly, 'unless he wanted to get pregnant.'

'Guys aren't meant to get pregnant,' Ed grumbled at it.

'But you managed.'

'Shut up!'

"Are you alright?" Gabriel asked, finally breaking through Ed's mental monologue.

"Yeah! Sorry, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking. What did you do with his journals?"

"There was only one, but I burned it."

"Yes. I remember you saying something like that in the car. Do you remember anymore symbols? Or words?"

"A symbol with entwining strands and there was a U with an arrow in it. The symbol for females was in a circle near the edge, and there was writing around the outside."

"Fuck." Ed growled as he slumped back into the chair. "Words. There had to be fucking words in this!"

"Something not going well?"

This time it was Roy's voice that came from the doorway and the two in the kitchen turned to look at him, one with a glare while the other had a polite, welcoming smile.

"No shit. Symbols I can deal with. I can create arrays, but I need to find out the fucking words now!"

Roy gave him the same smug look he had used on him since he had joined the military as the man walked past the table to put things away in the fridge.

"Come now, you're the Fullmetal Alchemist, the hero of the people, and a child prodigy. Surely you can figure out a few words."

"A few words my ass. Why don't you figure it out then, Bastard?" Ed quipped as he felt the stress drain from him slowly as they bantered, the routine of trading insults enough to make him feel at ease

"I have been making myself useful to our host, unlike a certain brat who seems to have been using up all her paper when he should be resting."

"Whose fault is it that I should be resting?"

"Yours for stepping into a bloody huge array in the middle of an open space, and then managing to get yourself kidnapped on top of that."

"Hey! Who sent us to a musty old building that was falling apart with that bloody huge, unknown, array on the floor?"

"That would be me." Gabriel broke in, "I'm going to go put my own stuff away, but I put the paper into three piles: one for the ones I know I haven't seen before, one for those I'm unsure of, and one pile for those I know I have seen. I would suggest picking up the paper on the floor though."

Ed watched him leave then turned to Roy, discovering that the man was watching him.

"What?"

"Were you working on this the entire time I was gone?"

"Yeah. Didn't get very far though, but it helped sort my mind a bit. There's not much I can do to find out what he used exactly, and I doubt I ever will without trying it out like he did." Ed shuddered as he spoke, knowing very well he never again wanted to see a person mangled in an array.

Roy nodded and sat across from him, sliding something under his hand to the other side,

"I never got a chance to really think it over, but I got us the car and some money for later on. Annie got us some food for a couple of days, along with clothes, but I managed to stop her from buying us camping gear. She said I was a friend of her son who was apprenticing under Gabriel and the people seemed to believe it for the most part. Half of them were too hung over to care.

"There's something else though," Roy continued, and Ed immediately focused all of his attention on him when he heard the frustrated tone, "Apparently there have been sightings of suspicious people hanging around the edges of the town and have been for the past couple of days. Tom's known we've been here and seems perfectly content to leave us alone."

"Now that is a whole other reason to start swearing." Ed hissed, then paused as he remembered something, "Hey Mustang, you never told me what he had done to you."

Roy froze then shrugged, "It was nothing really; but I think we should leave now."

"Now?" Ed jerked in surprise, "I thought we said not leaving for the next couple of days."

"They'll be more on edge in a few days. The guard has mostly likely already sent that we have made preparations to leave. I doubt they know that we have a car though."

"You know what, no. We can leave before sunrise, after I have eaten one last good and filling meal so our child can be born with minimum complications. Until then, we are both going for a nap and will only wake up for said meal. Then we are going to sleep again until one of us wakes up."

Ed stood up and pushed the chair back, ignoring Roy's look of shock that had appeared through the man's usually constant mask of indifference.

"Now, Roy. I've been up since god knows when puking my guts out."

Roy seemed to take the threat that was in Ed's voice seriously and quickly followed him up the stairs where they got ready for a nap, only waking up for supper and a shower.

Ed woke Roy at three in the morning with a gentle shake and grinned, the moonlight flashing over the hard look in his golden eyes.

"It's time to go."


End file.
